Man, Teen Killed In Far Rockaway Shooting As Neighborhood Faces Increasing Gun Violence
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man and a teenager were killed in a double shooting in Queens on Tuesday as the NYPD is dealing with new incidents of gun violence.
Police say the two victims were shot on Deerfield Road in Far Rockaway around 2:15 p.m., CBS2's Lisa Rozner reports. Police have been canvassing the area for video and interviewing witnesses.
A police source tells us one weapon has been discovered at the scene and evidence to support a close-contact struggle for the gun.
It's the latest in a troubling trend in Far Rockaway and the neighboring areas.
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Exclusive video shows a young man being taken away in handcuffs just before 3 p.m. on Beach 29th Street. Police say it's related to the double shooting, which killed a man in his 30s and a 15-year-old boy who died at the hospital.
A police source says it appears there was one gun. The man and the teenager were fighting, and one pulled a gun, which was discharged during the struggle with bullets hitting both of them.
"The anti-crime they took away for trying to get the guns, they need to bring that back," Far Rockaway resident David Marston said. "You need them out here because they're out here running rampant with these guns."
Stats from the NYPD show from January of this year to July 5, the 101st Precinct has reported 22 shooting victims compared to 10 in the same time period last year.
In the neighboring 100th precinct, there have been 10 shooting victims compared to one last year.
"People are afraid. People are afraid," said Karen Sloan-Payne, vice president of the Heart of Rockaway Civic Association. "Since a lot of them have been around the 67th Street train station and you know, so people coming and going, they're going to work, they're coming home and a lot of them have been happening all hours of day, sometimes during the middle of day."
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Maurice Williams runs "A Father's Love" youth development program. He says the city canceling the Summer Youth Employment Program is one cause.
"I went away, I went to prison because there was nothing for me to do here," Williams said.
The NYPD declined CBS2's request for an interview with the commanding officers of the 100th and 101st precincts. CBS2 wanted to ask them what their tactics are moving forward.
The city has increased funding by $250,000 to Rock Safe Streets, a program of Sheltering Arms. It sends mediators into trouble spots. The nonprofit will be able to hire four more staff and expand their coverage area within Far Rockaway.
"We went over one year without a shooting, and we were moving towards going another year without a shooting, and since the COVID happened and everyone being isolated and trapped in their homes, we've really seen an increase," said Amy Wilkerson, vice president of Youth and After-School Programs at Sheltering Arms.
Councilman Donovan Richards, who represented the area and chairs the public safety committee, was not available for an interview, but CBS2 has been told he will speak Wednesday at a rally to end gun violence.
