Man, 39, is shot dead in Brooklyn street Friday morning - as New York City deals with 68 percent increase in shootings from last year
- The NYPD responded to a 911 call around 5am about a shooting at Miller Avenue and Fulton Street in the East New York section of Brooklyn
- The victim, 39, was unresponsive, with a gunshot wound to his head
- He was later pronounced dead and has not been identified publicly yet
- No arrests had been made in the case as of Friday afternoon
- Through June 6, there were 181 homicides in New York City, up from 121 in the same period in 2019
- At least 687 people were wounded or killed by gunfire through June 6
- Compared to last year, instances of many major crimes are slightly down, but murders are up 11.7 percent and shootings are up 68.2 percent
A man was fatally shot in the head in Brooklyn Friday morning - as an increasingly violent New York City deals with a large uptick in shootings from last year.
The NYPD responded around 5am to Miller Avenue and Fulton Street in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn and found a 39-year-old man unresponsive, with a gunshot wound to his head.
EMS responded and pronounced the victim dead. The identity of the victim has not been released.
A New York City police officer with the Crime Scene Unit stands over the body of a man who was shot and killed on Friday morning
The NYPD is investigating the shooting death of a man in Brooklyn after he was found with a gunshot wound to the head on Friday morning
Commuters on an elevated subway platform look below at the scene where a man was shot
No arrests have been made in the case as of Friday afternoon, with the investigation ongoing.
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The shooting is the latest in a crime wave gripping New York City closely, particularly gun violence.
Many of the most common types of crime in the city, including robberies, burglaries and grand larcenies, remain near historic lows.
When they arrived, the man, 39, was found unconscious and unresponsive, with a gunshot wound to his head
No arrests have been made in the case as of Friday afternoon, with the investigation ongoing
The identity of the deceased is pending family notification
Through the first five months of 2021, the total number of major crimes measured by the police department hit the lowest level since comparable statistics became available in the 1990s.
But since the spring of 2020 the number of shootings has soared: Through June 6, there were 181 homicides in New York City, up from 121 in the same period in 2019, an increase of 50 percent.
That's the worst start to a year since 2011.
At least 687 people were wounded or killed by gunfire through June 6. More than 2,400 people were shot during the same period in 1993.
And it is the highest number for a winter and early spring since 2000.
Through the end of May, there have been 564 shootings, up from 318 last year which is a jump of 77.4 percent. In the final week of May, there were 33 shootings across New York City. The number of shooting victims has also risen by 76.9 percent from 360 by this time last year to 637 this year, through the end of May
Polling has shown crime is the top issue among likely primary voters in the upcoming New York City mayoral election.
When asked during a debate Thursday if police officers should continue to carry guns, all candidates said yes except Maya Wiley.
Andrew Yang said: 'My first act as mayor will be to go to the police and say ''we need you.'''
ANew York City police detective standing below the tracks of a city train overpass investigates the scene where a man was shot and killed in the Brooklyn borough of New York
Figures from the NYPD's CompStat website show serious crime rose by 23.4 percent in May, compared to the same month last year, the most recent month with complete statistics.
Robberies rocketed to 1,082 over the 28 days to May 30, up from just 726 for the same period in 2020.
Felony assaults also rose in the same period, from 1,443 in May 2020, to 1,769 in May 2021.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly been accused of being 'pro-criminal' by critics. They said his bail reforms - intended to avoid leaving people who can't afford bail languishing in jail for months or years for petty crimes - releases suspects back onto the streets to go on to reoffend.
Through the first five months of 2021, the total number of major crimes measured by the police department has been at its lowest level since comparable statistics became available in the 1990s
Morale among the NYPD has slumped amid lukewarm support from de Blasio. Crime on the city's transit network - including its buses, subways and trains - doubled in May compared to May 2020, up from 78 last year to 154 this year.
Both shooting incidents and shooting victims are up 68 percent so far in 2021 compared to the same time last year.
A total of 13 people were shot over Memorial Day weekend including a 15-year-old boy who was killed in the Bronx.
Fears are growing that the city is harking back to the dark days of the 70s and 80s when murders and shootings were rife and it earned the nickname 'Fear City.' Governor Andrew Cuomo has said New York City is now in the throes of a 'major crime problem' which - if not tackled soon - could cause irreparable damage to the Big Apple.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday that he was enlisting the help of federal ATF agents to tackle the city's crime problem which he blames on cops getting sick from COVID, rather than the cuts he imposed on the NYPD
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced a partnership between the NYPD and the ATF to try to tackle gun crime.
He has been widely blamed for the city's crime problem, with cops saying it's down to a lack of manpower caused by budget cuts.
Some 1,800 cops were cut as a result of the defund the police movement which prompted de Blasio to cut the NYPD's budget by $1billion. Nine hundred new recruits were added in November, but it's still nearly 2,000 cops off the total of the 36,900 uniform members of service from 2019.
Cops said the spike in crime is down to de Blasio disbanding the anti-crime unit - which had around 600 officers in it.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at the time that the decision, along with others like cutting $1billion from the NYPD budget and banning chokeholds, showed de Blasio and others were 'bowing to mob rule.'
'Let’s mark the date on the calendar and how long it’s going to be before we’re having a conversation about New York is crying out for more police.
'And I think that day has come,' he said last August in an interview.
Shea was notably absent from Tuesday's press conference where de Blasio announced his partnership with the ATF.
Instead, his deputy was there to represent the police force. When asked about it by a journalist, de Blasio became defensive.
'It all is one team fighting in common cause. This is a crucial moment talking about this partnership.
'I want to give [Deputy Commissioner] John Miller credit.
'I wanted the people of New York City to hear from him on it,' he said.
