Killing strikes Jeff Bezos' tony NYC neighborhood as shootings continue to rise

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NYPD Chief of Crime Control claims ‘lawlessness’ in NYC streets, blames reforms for ‘empowering’ criminals

Michael LiPetri, NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies, spoke to Fox News Digital about the recent spike in violent crime across New York City and why these criminals remain free to roam the streets.

A woman was fatally shot in a Manhattan neighborhood frequented by big-name celebrities, including Jeff Bezos and Jennifer Lopez, as shooting and murder rates in New York City are on the rise.

The woman, 19, and a 21-year-old man were standing on the corner of East 26 St. and Fifth Avenue around 12:30 a.m. Friday when a grey sedan pulled up and shots rang out, a New York Police Department spokesperson said.

Investigators are working to determine whether the gunman, who is still unidentified, got out of the car before opening fire or if the shots came from inside the vehicle before it drove off.

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The woman was struck in the chest while her male companion took a bullet to the leg, police said. Both were rushed to an area hospital, but she could not be saved.

Police have not released her name, pending proper family notification. Her attacker is still on the loose.

The neighborhood boasts a plethora of bigtime past and present residents, including billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and celebrity Jennifer Lopez.

In April, it was revealed that Bezos paid $16 million for a 10,000-square-foot unit at 212 Fifth Ave., which is located just feet from the intersection where the shooting happened. Bezos had reportedly already owned approximately $80 million worth in property in the building before his latest purchase.

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And Lopez was reported to have lived just up the block, at 21 East 26th St, before putting the duplex penthouse condo on the market in 2017.

Friday morning’s shooting is one of the latest in a staggering upward trend, New York Police Department data shows.

As of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, the department saw an increase of 132 more shootings and 178 more shooting victims than at this time last year. This year, the NYPD recorded 477 shootings and 571 victims, an increase from 2019’s 345 shootings and 393 victims.

From June 19 through Thursday, 49 shootings were reported, with 69 victims, compared to last year’s 20 shootings and 26 victims during the same time period, according to police.

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As for murders, by the time the clock struck midnight on Friday morning, there had been 141 homicides reported since the start of 2020 – 30 more than the previous year, NYPD data shows.

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, left, and Mayor Bill de Blasio during a news conference in New York on Feb. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

On Wednesday, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea stressed the rise in shootings and emphasized the need for city officials to support the police department.

“You have to step back and look at this. You have a criminal-justice system that is imploding,” Shea said, according to the New York Post. “Imploding. That’s the kindest way to put it.”

Earlier this week, Shea told Spectrum NY1 the department reported 100 shootings in May for the first time in an estimated five years.

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Shea also emphasized the need to have “hard conversations” about quality-of-life issues and the laws guiding police.

“We also need to support our police officers that are out there doing a very difficult job,” he said. “We cannot expect the police to go out there and fix laws that are broken. We cannot stop our way out of this problem. We need bad people held accountable and right now we have a lack of accountability.”