Another Violent Weekend In New York City: 22 Shot, 5 Dead Within 72 Hours
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It has been another violent weekend in New York City.
As CBS2's Christina Fan reports, 22 people shot, five dead, all within 72 hours.
Weekend after weekend, the cycle continues.
Activist Andre T. Mitchell with Man-Up Inc., is taxed to the max, trying to help the city reverse course.
"There's a lot of mediation that's taking place, and if they were not working on those cases, it would be even worse than what it is," Mitchell said.
There have been at least 634 shootings this year- a 64% increase compared to 2020. Just Monday morning, a gunman killed a 33-year-old man and pistol whipped another while trying to steal their jewelry in East Williamsburg.
"Each and every day with somebody being shot, of course it alarms you," one person said.
"I barely hang out in the area. I try to leave as much as possible," said another.
Mayor Bill de Blasio responded to angry New Yorkers, frustrated by the continuous rise in shootings, saying as hundreds more officers graduate from the academy and courts reopen, crime will begin to take a turn.
"We've had record number of gun arrests in recent months. We are going to continue doubling down on that. The court system finally coming back. We are starting to see the gun prosecutions," de Blasio said.
The mayor also said partnerships between the NYPD and cure violence organizations are growing.
At Man-Up, Mitchell is working to add even more summer programs for neighborhood youth.
"We believe strongly that when positivity is present, negativity is absent," Mitchell said.
Slowly stopping the bleed of violence.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
Christina Fan contributed to this report.
