Following Stray-Bullet Shooting Of 5-Year-Old In Brooklyn, Neighbors Say It's Time To Move; 'Everybody Has A Gun'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There are calls to put an end to the violence after a 5-year-old was hit by a stray bullet in Brooklyn on Monday. The little girl was the latest victim in a surge of gun violence in the city.
NYPD detectives, along with a community liaison and her child, visited the home of the little victim on Tuesday, CBS2's Christina Fan reported.
The officers, many of them parents, themselves, called the shooting unfathomable.
"This really strikes home as a father, myself," one officer said.
"I think that some are becoming numb to this," NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
Sources told Fan the girl was playing with chalk, drawing on the sidewalk in front of her home on Montauk Avenue, when a gunman opened fire nearby.
One of the bullets grazed her head.
The close call has convinced many of the family's neighbors that it's time to move.
"The area is not a safe area. It's very scary. I come here sometimes, you know, late, and I'll be scared," Kadiatou Diallo said.
Citywide, shooting incidents are up 56% this year compared to the same time in 2020.
When asked about the surge in gun violence during a sit-down interview last week, Chief of Department Rodney Harrison said retaliation shootings between gangs are a huge issue.
"We have to figure out ways to identify some of these problematic gang members, build up cases, conspiracy cases, and get them off the street," Harrison said.
Neighbors say the violence has left them too scared to leave their homes, even during daylight hours.
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While police visibly flooded the streets Tuesday, families said they need the officers here long term.
"You're not safe, everywhere. Everybody has a gun," Diallo said.
Police don't yet know who was the intended target of the shooting, but they released a photo believed to be of the suspect's getaway car.
They are offering a $2,500 reward for information.
CBS2's Christina Fan contributed to this report