NYC shootings leave 23 people injured over 5 days, including 10 victims struck in single day, police say

At least 23 people were shot in New York City between Sunday and Thursday, police statistics show, as one crime expert warns: "Violence begets violence." 

There were 18 shootings reported from 12 a.m. Sunday through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, the New York Police Department (NYPD) said Friday. Ten more people were shot during the four-day period than during the same time frame in 2021, police statistics show. 

There were 10 homicides reported for the same period, compared to the eight documented from Feb. 6 through Feb. 10, 2021, police said. 

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A more in-depth look at the police data shows 10 people were shot in a single 24-hour period, on Thursday, when there were seven shooting incidents. One person was struck in a single shooting on Feb. 10, 2021, police said. 

That same day, Mayor Eric Adams tearfully called on city agencies to do more to protect endangered youth from getting caught up in lives of crime and violence. 

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Joseph Giacalone, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, told Fox News Digital on Friday that every type of crime has increased year to date except for murder. 

Murders year to date are down 12.8% as of Sunday, police statistics show, but shootings are up 29.7%.

"So, you have to factor in a little bit of luck and some good medical care, not only from the hospital, but cops are trained with tourniquets and everything else to try to prevent people from dying after they've been shot," Giacalone, a retired NYPD detective sergeant, went on. "So, eventually, that luck runs out."

Giacalone acknowledged that analysts have seen this upward trend toward gun violence "for over two years," if not longer. 

Asked what he attributes to the uptick in crime, he pointed to "all of the reforms that have gone into effect" and the NYPD’s past decision to abolish the anti-crime unit, which he called "the one tool that was really meant to deter criminals from carrying illegal firearms."

"Here we are," he quipped. "When there is zero deterrence, the criminals step into that void. And with no threat of going to jail and no threat of getting any real prison time …"

Late last month, Adams announced plans to reinstate the plainclothes anti-crime units, renaming them "neighborhood safety teams," in the coming weeks.

Speaking about Mayor Adams’ recent announcement about helping endangered youth, Giacalone added that efforts toward violence interruption and mental health are "great," but will take time – up to months or years before they come to fruition, "or maybe not at all."

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"So, the main thing that you have to lean on is you have to stop the violence because violence begets violence," Giacalone said. "And if you're letting people out with no bail, with illegal firearms or there's a shooting and people don't go to jail for them, the chance of retaliation becomes greater. And I think that's what we're seeing here."