Page Nav

HIDE

Pages

Classic Header

{fbt_classic_header}

Breaking News:

latest

Terrified Brooklyn mom caught up in broad-daylight shooting confronts 'soft-on-crime' Bill de Blasio on his weekly radio phone-in demanding to know what's being done about soaring violence

  A terrified mother in Brooklyn confronted   New York City   Mayor Bill de Blasio about rising gun violence on Friday, sharing her own expe...

 A terrified mother in Brooklyn confronted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio about rising gun violence on Friday, sharing her own experience just blocks away from his upscale Park Slope home.

The woman, who identified herself as 'Nicole', phoned in to de Blasio's weekly call-in segment on WNYC, saying she was caught in the crossfire in a broad-daylight shooting on Tuesday. 

'Shots were fired, and I was right there when it happened,' she said, her voice shaking. 'I was happy my four-year-old got in the house and they found bullet casings right by where I was standing, in addition to other places on the block.'

The NYPD confirmed the incident, saying that two people, possibly innocent bystanders, were injured in the shooting at Caton Avenue and 18th Street, just south of Prospect Park. 

A terrified mother in Brooklyn confronted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio about rising gun violence on Friday, sharing her own experience in a broad-daylight shooting

A terrified mother in Brooklyn confronted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio about rising gun violence on Friday, sharing her own experience in a broad-daylight shooting

Police gather at the scene of an afternoon shooting along Ludlow Street in a trendy section of lower Manhattan on March 30, 2021 in New York City. A man was shot and seriously injured

Police gather at the scene of an afternoon shooting along Ludlow Street in a trendy section of lower Manhattan on March 30, 2021 in New York City. A man was shot and seriously injured


'They were right around the corner so I didn't actually see the people who were shot,' Nicole said. 'I know gun violence has increased in our area. This is in broad daylight, four in the afternoon.'

'I've thought about this and I want to know, what's being done? What's being done?' she asked the mayor.

Radio host Brian Leher expressed concern for the mother, asking if she felt safe, and she responded: 'When I open the door, even to take the garbage outside or something like that, I very carefully look from one side to the other to the other.'

'And when I had to take my son down the block — I have a one-year-old and a four-year-old — I carried him right in front of me so if we had to duck and cover, we could do that,' she said.

De Blasio expressed sympathy for the mother before once again blaming rising gun violence on the pandemic and predicting it will soon subside.

'It must have been terrifying and a parent's first instinct, obviously, is anything to protect their children,' he said. 'So, I'm very sorry you went through that and I'm sure it was very upsetting.'

'I think it comes back to this horrible combination of things we saw. People didn't have jobs, almost a million people lost their jobs, schools were closed, houses of worship were closed. Things really were falling apart,' said de Blasio.

A man was shot and seriously injured in the shooting just steps away from upscale boutiques and hotels in Manhattan on March 30

A man was shot and seriously injured in the shooting just steps away from upscale boutiques and hotels in Manhattan on March 30

'This year is going to be very, very different because we're going in the reverse direction, thank God,' he predicted.

'There's way too many guns in our society and we all know they come from outside the state,' said de Blasio.

In Tuesday's shooting incident, a 43-year-old woman was struck and injured in the thigh and a 53-year-old man was hit in the arm. The shooters escaped in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, police said. 

So far this year, shooting incidents in NYC are up 57 percent from the same period last year. Murders are up 20 percent.

Police unions have blamed policy changes such as bail reform, which eliminated cash bail for many crimes, and last year's move to cut the NYPD budget by $1 billion. 

A series of brazen violent crimes have also garnered headlines this week, including a tourist from Kansas City being grazed by a bullet near Times Square and a retired crime reporter being beaten and bloodied by a random attacker in Harlem.

On Monday, a gunman opened fire on a Bronx street just feet away from a mother and child who cowered in fear, surveillance video from the scene shows.

De Blasio was on Thursday forced to walk back dismissive statements about residents not living in 'fear,' acknowledging Thursday that citizens have reasonable anxieties as crime continues to increase.

On Monday, a gunman opened fire on a Bronx street just feet away from a mother and child who cowered in fear, surveillance video from the scene shows

On Monday, a gunman opened fire on a Bronx street just feet away from a mother and child who cowered in fear, surveillance video from the scene shows


De Blasio was responding to news of a five-year-old girl who was grazed by a bullet in Brooklyn's East New York on Monday, the latest in a string of shocking crimes amid a surge in New York City.

'First of all, it was horrible what happened to that little five-year-old and thank God she was going to be okay,' de Blasio said during his media availability on Thursday.

He then pointed towards mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons behind the current 'challenges' before launching into broader comments on the subject.

'We have a lot of challenges we have to overcome, but we overcome them. We went through a horrible, perfect storm last year, everything that could've gone wrong, went wrong at once, whether it was the pandemic, the violence, people losing their jobs, schools being closed, and New Yorkers fought through it. 

'So, is there anxiety? Of course. Is there fear? Yes. I'm not saying there's not any – I'm saying New Yorkers don't get intimidated, we fight back, and the comeback you're seeing this year is obvious and powerful, but we're going to address all of these issues.'

De Blasio pointed towards mental health resources, gun arrests by the NYPD, and the Cure Violence and Crisis Management System as to how New York is going to turn things around. 

However, a day earlier the mayor had earned a round of criticism by appearing to deny the reality of crime around the city. 

'I think people see these actions and they know that continued help is coming,' he argued on Wednesday. 'But New Yorkers don't live in fear. They keep moving forward. I really believe that. I've felt that my whole life here.' 

Just days ago, the NYPD released its latest crime data for March. It showed overall crime went up 2.4 percent compared with the same time last year. But shootings skyrocketed year-over-year, increasing 77 percent, and gun arrests jumped 67 percent from last March.

The data shows crime in the city increasing from recent years

The data shows crime in the city increasing from recent years

Judith Thomas, 75, was beaten by a random attacker on Easter Sunday
Police are still looking for her attacker

Judith Thomas (left), 75, was beaten by a random attacker (right) on Easter Sunda

The rise in violent crime in the city was driven by a 36 percent increase in murders and a 35 percent increase in auto thefts.

Crime appears to be increasing in New York City as more and more people exit various stages of lockdown from the coronavirus pandemic.

The incident with the five-year-old girl occurred around 6pm on Monday night, when a gunman stepped out of a vehicle in East New York and fired six shots towards a man.

The gunman missed his target, but at least one bullet grazed the little girl, who is doing okay after being treated at Brookdale University Hospital.

'I’m disgusted by the whole neighborhood,' the girl's father told the New York Daily News. 'It put like a slice on her head.'

'The streets have gotten worse. … that it happened in broad daylight is insane,' the girl's mom added.

She also criticized the mayor's assertion that New Yorkers weren't living in fear during the crime surge.

'He’s not really saying anything,' the mother said. 'What is his real plan. Is there an actual plan? Is there any plan at all. I don’t really feel safe with shots going off in broad daylight.'

No comments