Some cities facing backlash after defunding police departments
Cities reeling from violent crime and related woes after defunding local police departments.
Twenty-seven people were shot in New York City over the weekend during 22 shootings throughout the Big Apple, as officials bolster law enforcement presence in the subway system to combat a perceived uptick in violence, according to authorities and reports.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said there were three shootings on Friday, when four people were struck, including one person who was killed. Shortly before 9:40 p.m. Friday, police responding to a 911 call of a man shot in Queens.
Officers arrived to find 18-year-old Joel Lambert lying unconscious in the street, the NYPD said. He was rushed to a local hospital, but could not be saved. No arrests have been made so far.
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On Saturday, 13 people were wounded in 10 shootings, while 10 people were injured in nine shootings on Sunday, police said.
SUBWAY CRIME
In other New York City violence, police are looking for the suspect who they say shoved a 36-year-old Asian man onto the train tracks on Monday morning in Queens, according to the New York Post. The victim was on the platform at the 21st Street-Queensbridge station at approximately 7:45 a.m. when the man pushed him – as an F train was approaching, according to the report.
The conductor was able to stop the train before striking the victim, who was reportedly taken to an area hospital for a cut on his head. Police are still looking for the suspect.
And around 1 a.m. in Manhattan, two men were arguing on the subway platform at Seventh Avenue and West 53rd Street when they stabbed each other, local affiliate FOX 5 NY reported. Both were taken to an area hospital in police custody and are expected to survive, according to the report.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Police officers on patrol in a NYC subway station on May 15, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) (Getty)
On Monday, the NYPD told Fox News that there had been four more stabbings or slashings in the subway system so far this year compared to the same time in 2020 as of May 16, with 64 reported year-to-date in 2021. The number of stabbings and slashings reported citywide was down by 2.1%, or by 29 incidents, the department said.
Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city would be deploying 250 more officers to the subway system, marking the "largest NYPD Transit force in over 25 years," he said at the time. The additional 250 officers will be deployed on top of the 3,000 officers previously assigned to the subways, the mayor said.
On Monday, de Blasio said the bolstered subway personnel "unquestionably is going to have a huge impact."
"But we're going to keep doing whatever it takes, including the mental health services in the subways, the homeless outreach in the subways," he said. "All of this adds up and we'll keep adding up. But we also know and the public safety experts say the recovery itself is going to have a huge impact on safety."
New York City subway officials have also announced plans to hire private security officers for the subway system.
HATE CRIMES
Meanwhile, the Big Apple is also grappling with instances of anti-Semitism in recent days.
Just Saturday, four Jewish men were harassed around 7 p.m. outside Brooklyn synagogue Agudath Israel.
According to New York State Assembly Member Simcha Eichenstein, the suspects yelled, "Free Palestine - kill all the Jews." The NYPD has shared images and at least one video of the attack.
Just minutes earlier, two Jewish teenagers were attacked on Ocean Parkway and 18th Avenue, where they were punched by a group of men who allegedly forced them to say, "Free Palestine," FOX 5 NY reported.
Police are reportedly investigation whether the incidents are related.
On Monday, de Blasio said there was "no place for anti-Semitism" in New York City.
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"We're going to protect the Jewish community and make sure people feel that that protection is there for them. And we have to move forward. And I've been really clear about the fact that anti-Semitism has been growing in recent years around the world. We have to stop it. And one place it needs to be stopped once and for all. It's right here in New York City and we will do that. We will stomp it out."
Fox News' Marta Dhanis contributed to this report.
If you've got a story tip, email Stephanie Pagones at stephanie.pagones@fox.com.
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