New York's Summer of Gun Violence Is Off to a Chicago-Style Start

Alexander Abad-Santos
New York's Summer of Gun Violence Is Off to a Chicago-Style Start

New York City, five months into one of the least violent years in its history, had five percent of its total shootings for 2013 over the weekend: 25 people were shot in just 48 hours, bringing the yearly figure to 440 shootings — with six more fatalities. The New York Daily News has a rundown of the latest grim gun violence: three people were killed on Sunday, 14 people were shot between Friday and Saturday nights, one victim is an 11-year-old girl who is now paralyzed, and the Associated Press reports four people were shot in four different shootings on Brooklyn on Sunday night alone.

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Those are Chicago-like numbers. Nearly a year ago, Chicago saw 40 people shot and six deaths over a single weekened. And Memorial Day weekend of last year had 40 shootings and 10 gun deaths. Just this weekend, Chicago saw 12 more people wounded in shootings and one fatality, CBS Chicago reports. The uptick in violent crime in a city known all too well for its gun violence is sometimes blamed on warmer weather, and New York had its first consistent 90-degree weather this weekend.

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But the thing is, New York isn't Chicago, and while the Windy City has been called out during the gun legislation debate, New York is one of the only states to pass major gun control laws since the Newtown shootings — and the city's mayor is one of the leading proponents of stricter firearm regulations. Chicago's gun violence has rose in 2011 and 2012, and the city's homicide rate, as CNN reported in April was on pace to break another record. New York's gun-related incidents and violence have fallen. The 440 shootings so far in 2013 represent "a 23% drop compared with the 574 victims shot through this time last year," the Daily News reports. The violence also comes as New York City saw a rash of anti-gay violent crimes late last month, which included the hate crime/murder of Mark Carson.