Another Mass Shooting In Brooklyn

In the wee hours this morning, about 100-150 people had gathered in front of 927 DeKalb Avenue, The Roosevelt Houses, listening to some amplified music, when two unknown shooters walked over from Pulaski street and fired shots into the crowd wounding 8 people, police informed.

Multiple 911 calls flooded in around 12:24 am, and cops heard the gunshots at the 81 Precinct house down the street and rushed over. The three men and five women, all between the ages of 18-27, each suffered a single gunshot, none of them deemed currently life-threatening and were taken to local hospitals. Bullets pierced two windows, but no one was injured, the press was informed.

This is the first shooting in 81 Precinct in over a month, however, it is the second mass shooting in Brooklyn in the last 8 days. Last weekend there was a shooting at the 75 Precinct that injured five, of whom 3 have since died.

As of August 8, Citywide murders are slightly up this year from last year, 260 neighbors have lost their lives in gun violence. Shootings are up over 10% and 1109 people have been shot - almost 15% more than by this time last year. In Brooklyn, murders, shootings, and the number of people shot are all down, year on year, even if there has been an increase this month.  

As of August 8, according to Compstat, 84 people were murdered in Brooklyn this year (down from 97 this time last year), 368 were shot (down from 435) in 310 shootings (356). In 81 Precinct, while shootings have declined by 40% to 16 this year, murders have exploded - 8 people have been killed compared to 1 last year. (This data does not include this morning's events).

When asked about it this morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio said:

"The key is more gun arrests. We’re at the highest level of gun arrests in 25 years, more cooperation between NYPD and community to get the information that PD needs for those prosecutions, the work of the violence interrupters, all these pieces have been working. We're going to apply them constantly and, yes, move officers constantly to where they're needed most. It will not happen overnight, but it will happen. We will turn this tide. There’s just no question in my mind."