NYC Activists Demand Action After 10 Shootings Leave 3 Dead, 22 Wounded Over Weekend
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was among those speaking out Monday against the rash of shootings that took place over the weekend.
"Our children deserve to live; our adults deserve to live. All lives matter," Adams said during a news conference.
Adams called on the city to provide more money and resources to curb violence, demanding $10 million in emergency funding, CBS2's Ilana Gold reported.
NYC Community Activists Demand Action After 10 Weekend Shootings Leave 22 Injured
Adams placed a casket outside Brooklyn Borough Hall to emphasize the devastating impact of gun violence. One look inside the symbolic gold coffin, reveals a familiar face: there's a mirror inside surrounded by pictures of shooting victims, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported.
Adams said he hopes the shocking image has an impact on the public, Gold reported.
"The good people of this city do not have to argue, yell, and scream at each other," Adams said. "We are on the same side."
There were 10 shooting incidents across New York City this weekend that left 22 injured. Overall, there were 18 shooting incidents for the week of July 27-Aug. 2, with 33 victims.
Two people were killed and 11 others wounded in three overnight shootings on Sunday, including nine people who were hurt when gunfire broke out at a backyard party in Brooklyn.
That incident happened at around 2:15 a.m. in East New York after a dispute, police said. Six women and three men were shot, most with wounds to their legs. Police said the injuries weren't life-threatening.
Four other people sustained cuts and bruises during the disturbance.
The incident was caught on surveillance video and police are now looking for multiple gunmen.
Another shooting happened at a playground in the Bronx around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Officers responding to a 911 call found three people with gunshot wounds. A 20-year-old man had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified as Christian Garcia, of the Bronx.
A 25-year-old man was shot in the leg, and a 17-year-old girl was shot in the buttocks. They were both hospitalized in stable condition.
Authorities said a man was also killed in another Brooklyn shooting that happened about the same time opposite the Whitman Houses in the Fort Greene section. The 46-year-old man was shot multiple times. No identification was immediately released.
Saturday morning, police said 25-year-old Donnell Smith was shot and killed inside a hallway at the Glenwood Houses in East Flatbush.
His mother, Rosalyn Jackson, spoke out at a stop the violence rally and pleaded for justice.
"Enough is enough," she said. "I'm tired, but I'm not going to let my son's death be in vain because they shot him down like he was a dog in the street and that I'm not standing for."
Community leaders say they're experiencing more gun violence in the neighborhood and claim the mayor has ignored their concerns.
"Where's our mayor? Why are you not here denouncing what's going on in our community?" said community activist Tony Herbert.
At Sunday's Ecuadorian Parade, CBS2 asked Mayor Bill de Blasio twice for a comment, but his aide pushed CBS2 away.
De Blasio's press secretary Karen Hinton issued a statement Monday saying, "Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton have added officers to high crime areas in the Summer All Out effort. The Mayor takes very seriously each incident and has directed NYPD to beef up its presence in these areas. Overall crime is going down, but Mayor de Blasio will continue to be diligent about preventing crime and locking up criminals."
Hinton said that despite the violent weekend, the number of people shot during the first seven months of 2015 compared to 2014 is up by less than 1 percent. There have been 669 shooting incidents with 794 victims so far this year, according to Hinton. That's compared to 674 shooting incidents and 787 victims last year.
"There's no question that every crime, every victim of a crime, is a tragedy," Phil Walzak, the mayor's senior adviser for strategic planning, told CBS2's Marcia Kramer. "It's an issue that is taken very seriously here."
Separately, on Monday Sen. Charles Schumer and his cousin, comedian Amy Schumer, held a news conference calling for new gun control legislation following the Louisiana theater shooting.
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