The bullets are flying in some Gotham neighborhoods.
The number of shooting victims in the 52nd Precinct in the Bronx — covering Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge and Norwood — has jumped 130% so far in 2024, to 30 from 13 the same period last year, according to NYPD data.
Citywide there has been an 8% decline in shooting victims and 11% fewer shooting incidents year over year; but both are up 19% and 15% respectively from five years ago.
In May, two people were killed in a triple shooting after gunfire erupted during a heated dispute between migrant squatters and fed-up legal residents at a Fordham Heights building, police said.
“What you have here now is the older residents of the building that have been there for quite some time, challenging three of the new arrivals. The new arrivals run into the building and come back out with their crew, armed with bats, knives and other weapons” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a press conference after the shooting.
The illegal-immigrant suspect, Josue Ruben Silva, 21, pulled out a pistol and fired at three of the men, killing two, officials said.
Silva, of Venezuela, who already had a lengthy rap sheet, is still wanted for the killings, cops said.
“The majority of the shootings in the Bronx are gang related,” said an NYPD detective. “The 52 is heavy with gangs.”
The 103rd Precinct in Jamaica, Queens, has seen the second highest surge in shooting victims — 100%, from seven at this point in 2023 to 14 so far this year.
And the 34th Precinct, which covers Washington Heights and Inwood in Manhattan, has seen an 80% increase, with 18 shooting victims so far this year, up from 10.
The 102nd Precinct in Queens, covering Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven and part of Ozone Park, has recorded 12 shooting victims, up 71% from the seven at this point last year.
The Bronx’s 40th Precinct — Port Morris, Mott Haven, and Melrose — has seen 32 shooting victims so far this year, 60% more than the 20 at the same point last year.
“Some of those had been historically violent precincts back in the day,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “As we talk about New York City slipping back to the bad old days, these are the precincts that you have to watch.”
