Two people were wounded overnight, a far cry from the past weeks in which 10 or more people per night were shot and killed, police officials say, leading to optimism that peace advocates and changes in community policing are having a positive effect.
The first shooting occurred Wednesday night in which a 27-year-old man was shot in the back while walking in front of 184 Stagg Walk in South Williamsburg.
The victim was said to have had a dispute with another male black who fled on foot. The victim was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition. The investigation by the 90th Precinct police is continuing.
The second shooting occurred at 9 p.m. in front of 41 Newport Street in which a 17-year-old was shot in the right hand. He was taken to Brookdale University Medical Center and according to police from the 73rd Precinct, the victim has been “uncooperative.”
Only one other incident of shots fired was reported at Glenwood Road in the Breuklin Houses in Canarsie. Spent shells were found at the scene, but nobody was shot.
The week was also marked by the arrest of two men in connection with shootings in both Brooklyn and Queens. Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison applauded detectives for the arrest of Hason Rink in connection with two homicides in Brooklyn and James Thurston, for a shooting in Queens.
Peace advocates have been fanning out throughout the city in an effort to reach young people who have been using guns to settle disputes. The anti-violence efforts have seen rallies at the sites of shootings and one-on-one with social workers talking with gang members in hard-hit areas.
On Tuesday, advocates from Stop Shooting, Start Living held an anti-violence rally at the Weeksville Houses, where two teens have been shot to death at the same location. There, the mother of the victim gave an impassioned plea to the public to stop the violence and expressed sorrow that city services “let her son down.”
Community policing and high visibility patrols have also impacted the number of shootings per night, though on Monday night, two gunmen attacked a 22-year-old man at the memorial for two teens killed on a basketball court on Sunday night.
Those police patrols can be seen every night at the corner of Williams Avenue and Glenwood Road, both police cars, foot patrols, and command vehicles equipped with spotlights have been deterring many of the attacks in that area that have resulted in at least two homicides and several people wounded. The same patrols have been set up at other trouble sites, including on Seaview Avenue and East 92nd Street at the memorial for rapper Pop Smoke who was killed in February by purported rival gang members, sparking much of the violence of late.
Anyone with information in regard to this missing person is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips.
