The city saw a surge in violence over the weekend. Shots were fired at more than a dozen people in all boroughs.
Even though there is a lot of gun violence, the number of shootings is down by more than 10 percent from this time last year.
Two of the shootings that happened over the weekend happened on 125th Street in Harlem. One of the shootings that killed someone happened inside a smoke shop called Level Up Exotics on Saturday night. Alfred Johnson, who was 42 years old, has been named as the victim by the police.
As a result of a rise in shooting occurrences across the country, we have reported on a few of the incidents that have arisen as a result:
- Parkland Shooting Victim David Hogg Felt Guilty After the Uvalde, Texas Mass Shooting.
- Police Give A Timeline Of What Happened In The Omaha Target Shooting.
The NYPD says that Johnson was shot in the chest and neck shortly after 10 p.m. after some kind of argument. Police are looking into whether or not a store worker killed him.
Police say that a woman was shot in the chest early on Sunday morning near a BP gas station on 125th Street. The police don’t think the two things are related.
This weekend, caution tape was put up in every borough. More than a dozen people have been shot in the city. On Saturday, a 20-year-old was shot on Staten Island, according to police.
Police said that at least three of the people who were shot died. Since 1985, Klea Blackhurst has lived in the city, and she was having flashbacks.
Blackhurst of Harlem said –
“It seems we’re kind of back at that sort of gritty level in a way, everything kind of Disney-fied and cleaned up, and then it seems to be sort of rough again right now, so it kind of breaks my heart.”
But the NYPD says that the number of shootings is down by more than 10 percent from this time last year.
Blackhurst said –
“If that’s true, I don’t really know. If it’s down, I’ll take that. I’ll take the statistic. I’m not gonna argue with it.”
A 24-year-old man was also killed on Friday afternoon in the Bronx when he was shot in the chest. Since then, two suspects who were caught on surveillance video have been taken into custody.
This weekend, CBS2 talked to Pam Damon from the group Not on My Watch. She said that even though the numbers are down by double digits in the city, there is still a lot that needs to be done.
Damon said –
“We need to have more resources. We need to have an area where our youth can talk and we can hear them. Our schools need to be more active, our elected officials.”
A man named Corey told CBS2 that he moved to Harlem a year and a half ago from South Florida.
Corey said –
“That’s New York. I feel like I’ve always heard that, even before I moved here, know what I mean? So, it’s not really shocking to me. It didn’t stop me. It’s the highs and lows of New York.”
Police say that after the shooting at the smoke shop on Saturday night, two suspects drove away in a blue SUV. However, no one has been taken into custody.
