Shootings and homicides had dropped 11 consecutive weeks before a number of trigger-happy criminals wrought havoc on New York City during the July 4 weekend, according to Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
In speaking with the press Wednesday at One Police Plaza, the city’s top cop said the NYPD went out in full force to quell violence before and during the Independence Day weekend. Even so, the city saw more than a dozen shootings between July 4-5 alone, leaving three New Yorkers dead and more than 20 people injured.
“We shut down loud party, after unruly gathering, after reported and unreported disturbance. We doubled our quality-of-life enforcement. We dispersed unruly, countless crowds, some of them were 20 people deep which required multiple officers to do so safely,” Sewell said. “We knew going into this weekend as the fourth of July as the city fully reopens required a significant amount of resources and that is exactly what we deployed. Your NYPD was out there for the overwhelming number of people who simply wanted and deserved to have a nice holiday weekend with their friends and families.”
Yet even with the July 4 shootings, the NYPD has seen shooting increases drop by 12% compared to the same time a year ago. Moreover, the NYPD worked hard to arrests homicide suspects and get gun-toting criminals off the streets.
“Five homicides over the weekend have already been closed out with arrests. We seized 65 firearms and made 57-gun arrests over the weekend,” Sewell said.
This concerning bullet storm is not only a New York issue but an American one sweeping deep into the very fabric of the red, white, and blue-also seen on July 4th in Highland Park, Illinois with a death toll now reaching seven.
While Commissioner Sewell stated they the NYPD will soon be announcing further crime statistics, she also promised that the police department will stay vigilant.
“We will continue our strategies that have worked and initiate new ones to adapt to changing conditions. We will apprehend, charge, and hold the criminals in this city accountable and seek real consequences for their behavior. We have the NYPD though we have challenges, and we step forward to face them. But we should not have to face them from within our own criminal justice system. The NYPD continues to be out there every single day and night in an effort to make the city safe and improve the quality of life for New Yorkers,” Sewell said.
