Violent crime continues to soar in New York City as police recorded a 34.2 percent spike last month compared to April 2021.
While the New York Police Department recorded 370 more robberies, 354 more felony assaults, and 342 more burglaries than last year, citywide shootings have seen a drop of 29.1 percent, falling from 148 cases in April 2021 to 105 last month.
Gun violence, however, is still nearly double what it was in 2019 as shootings remain a regular occurrence in the Big Apple despite Mayor Eric Adam’s vow to crack down on crime.
The city saw its latest shooting on Tuesday, where a gunman killed a 31-year-old man and injured two others at a deli in the Bronx, just a day after Adams was pictured rubbing shoulders with celebrities at the Met Gala while wearing a tuxedo that read ‘End Gun Violence’ on the back.
APRIL 2021 VS APRIL 2022: Overall crime in New York City saw a 34.2 percent increase last month compared to April 2021. Robberies and felony assaults saw dramatic upticks, but shooting incidents fell by 29 percent
MAY 2021 vs MAY 2022: As of May 1, overall crime is up 41.6 percent so far this year compared to last year
In January 2022, Mayor Adams unveiled a comprehensive plan to combat the surge in crime, which included increased foot patrols as well as the revival of a plain clothes unit named Neighborhood Safety Teams.
The mayor also launched his Subway Safety plan in February, which sent 1,000 officers with health care partners to crackdown on homelessness and crime in the city’s transit system.
Yet the initiatives have bore little fruits as crime continues to rise, with murder and rape being the only crimes to see a down tick between April 2022 and April 2021.
The NYPD reported 31 murders last month, a 38 percent drop from the 50 last year, and rapes fell by 6 percent, with 109 cases reported in April.
The shooting came a day after New York Mayor Eric Adams (left) was spotted at the Met Gala
Adams wore a suit that read, ‘End Gun Violence.’ While shootings have gone down in the previous month, crime continues to rise throughout the city
Yet week-to-week, crime continues to rise, with the city reporting an overall increase of 41.6 percent in overall crime as of May 1 compared to last year.
So far this year, NYC has seen 7,634 felony assaults, a nearly 20 percent increase from last year, 470 shooting victims, a 4.4 percent increase, 509 rapes, a 10.7 spike, and 4,844 robberies, a rise of nearly 45 percent.
On Tuesday, police arrested Edison Cruz, 25, for allegedly shooting dead a 31-year-old victim and injuring two others during the overnight attack on East Burnside Avenue and Grand Concourse in Mount Hope.
Shocking video of the latest Bronx shooting shows the victim wielding a bat at a man said to be Cruz – before running inside a bodega when a gun is pulled out.
Cruz allegedly then opened fire from the sidewalk, hitting the victim in the head and the torso while a man and a woman, both 34, were struck in the arm and chest.
The fatality was declared dead at the scene while the two bystanders were rushed to Saint Barnabas Hospital, where they remain in stable condition.
The city saw its latest deadly shooting on Tuesday, where a gunman killed a 31-year-old man and injured two others at a deli in the Bronx
Edison Cruz (pictured), 25, allegedly blasted the 31-year-old man during the overnight attack on East Burnside Avenue and Grand Concourse in Mount Hope
Disturbing surveillance video of the altercation shows the victim seemingly wielding a baseball bat at Cruz before running inside a bodega when he realized Cruz pulled out a gun
The shooting in the Bronx came two days after a Virginia man visiting family in the Upper West Side was gunned down in broad daylight while sitting in a parked car.
Ronald Thomas, 27, of Glen Allen, Virginia, was fatally shot near the Frederick Douglass Houses, a public housing development in the Manhattan Valley neighborhood, New York Daily News reported.
Witnesses allege he and a woman were arguing when a gunman pulled up to the cul-de-sac outside the housing complex.
The shooter pulled out his weapon and opened fire, striking the Virginia father in the head. He then fled the scene, leaving Thomas to die in the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 he had been seated in.
A resident who heard the gunfire recalled seeing Thomas’ sneakers dangling out of the driver’s side door.
While gun violence continues to occur regularly in New York City, robberies and assaults happen much more regularly.
Ronald Thomas, 27, of Glen Allen, Virginia, was fatally shot in broad daylight while sitting in a parked car in New York City’s Manhattan Valley neighborhood on Sunday
The gunman then fled the scene, leaving Thomas to die in the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250
Surveillance cameras in the Bronx captured on such incident on Monday, where a man was filmed punching and kicking a 77-old-man he allegedly tried to rob in the middle of the street.
The suspect is seen approaching and talking to the elderly man with a cane, who tries walking away before the other man suddenly punches him in the face.
The 77-year-old falls to the ground as the suspect throws a cup he was holding in the elderly man’s face.
The suspect proceeds to kick him in the face and walks away as the elderly man is left writhing on the floor.
Over in Queens, cameras captured the moment a 79-year-old man was beaten at the Junction Boulevard station in Corona on Saturday.
The suspect can be seen walking past the elderly man before suddenly striking him in the face.
The 77-year-old tumbles backwards and hit himself against the wall and falling to the ground, causing him to suffer lacerations to the back of his head, police reported.
The suspect quickly took off and is still on the loose while the victim was transported to a hospital in Elmhurst and was reported to be in stable condition.
