Some NYC Residents Say They Sense Police Apathy To Stop Gun Violence Amid Calls For Reform
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- People living in communities affected by the rise in gun violence are desperately hoping for it to end.
The surveillance video is heartbreaking to watch.
Early Sunday evening, 29-year-old Anthony Robinson of East New York, Brooklyn is seen walking with his 6-year-old daughter in the Bronx. The little girl is watching as a car pulls up beside them and her father is fatally shot in the chest.
"It was scary," witness Angelica Martinez told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez.
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The deadly shooting happened right outside a cellphone store on East 170th Street and Sheridan Avenue, where Martinez was working.
Also Sunday, just a few blocks away on East 171st, a pair of gunman opened fire on three people entering an apartment. Two men were killed.
Some people living in the neighborhood told CBS2 since the movement to defund police began police aren't doing enough to deter the violence.
"I think police are right now they are not really trying to de-escalate citizens," Martinez said. "There just you know like, OK, you guys don't have my back, we won't have your back. They're just not putting in, doing their job, which is scary because we need police."
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There were at least five shootings in Upper Manhattan on Sunday. The youngest injured was a 15-year-old boy on Madison Avenue in East Harlem.
"It's a damn shame. Get the people that is giving them the guns," East Harlem resident Amin Mubarak said.
"They deliver too much gun for people. They have to stop that," added Bronx resident Adama Doumbia. "They 15 years old, they have a gun!"
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams rallied with community leaders in Lower Manhattan in an attempt to brainstorm ways to stop the violence. They momentarily clashed with Occupy City Hall protesters calling for police reform.
"Let's show some leadership, bring everyone to the table. We know what works. Let's fund it. Let's get together and get it done," Williams said.
While many point fingers of blame for the rise in gun violence, some say the solution lies in everyone's hands.
"You crying when the police gun is down. Where is the outcry when we doing it to ourselves? So everybody's got to take responsibility for it and everybody's got to come together and work together," Mubarak said.
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And community leaders say the only way to save our streets is if everyone does their part.
On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio held a virtual meeting with community leaders in Upper Manhattan. That part of the city had the largest increase in gun violence over the holiday weekend.