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Two Teenagers Are Among 8 Killed on Deadly Day in New York City Two Teenagers Are Among 8 Killed on Deadly Day in New York City
(about 2 hours later)
New York City was already in the middle of a brutal, bloody day when, at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, shots were fired from a car as it passed a park in Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills section. Kathy Mendez did not think twice on Sunday when her teenage son, Kleimer, asked if he could go play basketball near their home in Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills neighborhood.
When the gunfire ended, another city resident’s life had been cut short in broad daylight: A 16-year-old boy Kleimer P. Mendez, lay dead on the sidewalk, shot in the head, the police said. Two others were also injured in the gunfire, and on Monday, one of them, Antonio Villa, died from his injuries as well. The sun was still shining and it was a sweltering summer day. So Ms. Mendez, who had just returned from her job at a hair salon, gave Kleimer, 16, her blessing.
The two teenagers were among eight people killed in violent crimes on Sunday, an exceptionally deadly 24 hours that came as New York City wrestles with a spike in shootings unlike anything it has seen in decades. Less than an hour later, Kleimer lay dead on the sidewalk about a half-mile from his home, the victim of a drive-by shooting that also killed a second teenager, Antonio Villa, 18, and wounded a third.
The trend has not shown signs of slowing, even though for weeks the police, community activists and elected officials have vowed to confront the rising tide of violence. The shooting was one of 15 to take place on an exceptionally deadly day in New York City: Seven people were fatally shot and one was stabbed to death on Sunday, a brutal 24 hours that came as New York City has wrestled with a spike in violence unlike anything it has seen in decades.
The triple shooting on Sunday was one of 15 shooting incidents that police officers responded to on Sunday. Of the eight people killed that day, seven were felled by bullets. The trend has not shown signs of slowing, even though for weeks the police, community leaders and elected officials have vowed to confront the rising tide of violence.
“When we have a day with 15 shootings in New York City, that’s not a success,” Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea said Monday in an interview on NY1. “There’s no other way to put that.”“When we have a day with 15 shootings in New York City, that’s not a success,” Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea said Monday in an interview on NY1. “There’s no other way to put that.”
Through July 26, the city had 745 shootings, an increase of 73 percent from last year, when there were 431 in the same time period, the police said. Homicides rose by 29 percent, up to 227 from 176 last year. The victims included a 1-year old boy, Davell Gardner Jr., who was fatally shot when gunmen attacked people at a late-night cookout in Brooklyn on July 12. Through July 26, the city had recorded 745 shootings, an increase of 73 percent from last year, when there were 431 in the same time period, the police said.
The surge in New York City has been part of a larger trend of shootings in big American cities, including Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and Denver. The spike has since become entangled in a fractious debate over the future of policing, which was sparked by the killing of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. Homicides rose by 29 percent, up to 227 from 176 last year. The victims included a 1-year old boy, Davell Gardner Jr., who was fatally shot when gunmen attacked people at a late-night cookout in Brooklyn on July 12.
In New York, gun violence normally increases in the summer months, when warmer weather lures more people outside and tempers are rankled by sweltering weather. On Sunday, temperatures in the city climbed above 90 degrees and a heat advisory was put in effect in the afternoon. The surge in New York City has been part of a larger trend of shootings in large American cities. The spike has since become entangled in a fractious debate over the future of policing, which was sparked by the killing of George Floyd in May while in police custody in Minneapolis.
But experts have said the violence has been especially brutal this year as the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the socioeconomic problems that often contribute to gun violence, including poverty, housing instability, unemployment and hunger. In New York, gun violence typically does increase in the summer months, when warmer weather lures more people outside and tempers are rankled by sweltering temperatures.
Senior police officials and Mayor Bill de Blasio have also blamed the spike in gun violence on a slowdown in the court system caused by the pandemic. But experts have said the violence has been especially brutal this year as the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the socioeconomic problems that often contribute to gun violence.
On Monday, Mr. de Blasio again laid blame on the courts, calling for them to fully reopen as soon as possible. He said the city had seen a “huge backlog” of cases, with only half of firearms charges reaching the indictment stage. Senior police officials and Mayor Bill de Blasio have also blamed the spike in shootings on a slowdown in the court system caused by the pandemic.
Mr. de Blasio said he had sent a letter to the five district attorneys urging them to work together to restart the court system and asking what they need from him. On Monday, Mr. de Blasio again called for the courts to fully reopen as soon as possible. He said the city had seen a “huge backlog” of cases, with only half of firearms charges reaching the indictment stage.
“We can solve our problems,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news briefing on Monday. “We have the ability to do it, but everyone has to come to the table.”“We can solve our problems,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news briefing on Monday. “We have the ability to do it, but everyone has to come to the table.”
Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, said the courts were working to resume full operations and rebuked the mayor’s comments. Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, disputed the mayor’s contention that the courts were to blame for the rise in shootings, noting the courts were working to resume full operations.
“While New York City still does not allow indoor dining, the Mayor blithely asks us to call in thousands of people a week citywide for jury duty,” Mr. Chalfen said. “Clearly he has absolutely no understanding of how the criminal justice process works.” Commissioner Shea, joining Mr. de Blasio, said that the Police Department was sending resources to areas of the city that had seen outbursts of gang violence. More than half of Sunday’s shootings took place in Brooklyn, he said.
Commissioner Shea, joining Mr. de Blasio, also said that the Police Department was sending resources to areas of the city that had seen outbursts of gang violence. More than half of Sunday’s shootings took place in Brooklyn, he said. Earlier on Monday, in his NY1 interview, Mr. Shea said the Police Department had been taxed by both the rise in gun violence and continued protests against systemic racism and police brutality that have filled city streets this summer.
But earlier on Monday, in his NY1 interview, Commissioner Shea cautioned that the Police Department had been taxed by both the rise in gun violence and continued protests against systemic racism and police brutality that have filled city streets this summer. Over the weekend, the protests again brought hundreds of people to the streets in Brooklyn and Manhattan, many of them marching to support demonstrators facing off against federal law enforcement officers in Portland, Oregon.
Over the weekend, the protests again brought hundreds of people to the streets in Brooklyn and Manhattan, many of them marching to support demonstrators facing off with federal law enforcement in Portland, Oregon. “Every available resource is being used to quell this gun violence,” Mr. Shea said on Monday. “But there’s a lot of balls up in the air that we’re balancing.”
Though the demonstrations in New York were largely peaceful, on Saturday night a man vandalized three police vehicles, breaking their windows, slashing their tires and tagging them with spray paint. In Cypress Hills on Monday, neighbors gathered to pay tribute to Mr. Mendez and Mr. Villa at the site of the shooting, placing candles and writing their condolences on a poster set up on the sidewalk.
On Sunday, hundreds of protesters stopped traffic on the F.D.R. Drive in Manhattan. Fourteen people were arrested during marches over the weekend. Ms. Mendez, escorted by friends and relatives, came to the spot where her son had died and broke into tears
Senior police officials for weeks have pointed to the resources diverted to the protests as one reason for plummeting arrest numbers, though many elected officials have pushed back and accused officers of a work slowdown. The police said the two teenagers and the third victim, a 17-year-old whom officials have not identified, had been playing basketball at the George Walker Jr. Park in Cypress Hills before the shooting took place on Sunday.
“Every available resource is being used to quell this gun violence,” Commissioner Shea said on Monday. “But there’s a lot of balls up in the air that we’re balancing.” At around 6:40 p.m., the three young men were standing on a sidewalk when a gunman fired out of the moon roof of a sport utility vehicle and sped away. Detectives said they believed that the gunman had gotten into an argument with at least one of the victims before the shooting.
The violence on Sunday began shortly after midnight on Staten Island, where Grashino Yancy, 32, was shot in his right leg, the police said. Mr. Yancy was rushed to the hospital, but his injury was fatal. Both Mr. Mendez and Mr. Villa, who friends called “Tone,” were shot in the head. Mr. Mendez was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr. Villa died on Monday at a hospital, the police said. The 17-year-old was hit in the leg.
Less than an hour later, the police rushed to an apartment building in the Bronx, where they found Kemar Soloman, 32, stabbed to death in the third-floor hallway. Ms. Mendez declined to speak with reporters on Monday, and her employer, Roma Lopez, said that the mother was devastated.
More violence in the Bronx would come before sunrise. At around 3 a.m., the police found a man, 37, who has not been identified, fatally shot in the head in the Allerton neighborhood. “She has no words,” Ms. Lopez said.
Then, at about 5:42 a.m., the police were called about an assault in the Bronx’s Belmont section. When they arrived, they found two men, 24 and 20, had both been shot. The older man, Juancarlos Ortega, had been shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the hospital, the police said. The younger man, shot in the groin, was in stable condition. Ms. Lopez, who has known Mr. Mendez since he was born, described him as a kind and reserved boy who was not known for causing trouble. He was an obedient child who loved playing basketball and often babysat his two younger brothers.
The police arrested Joam Casado, 39, and charged him with murder and weapon possession in the incident, officials said. Mr. Mendez often confided in his mother, Ms. Lopez said. “She did not know of any problems,” Ms. Lopez said. “We don’t even think that bullet was intended for him.”
The afternoon brought a fifth homicide, this one in Queens. Just before 2:15 p.m., Shaka Ifill, 40, was shot in the back in a house in the Woodhaven neighborhood. Mr. Ifill, a Bronx resident, was taken to the hospital but did not succumb to his injury until four hours later, officials said. The violence on Sunday began shortly after midnight on Staten Island, where Grashino Yancy, 32, was shot in his right leg, the police said. Mr. Yancy was taken to the hospital but the wound was fatal.
The triple shooting in Cypress Hills brought two more deaths, those of Kleimer, the 16-year-old boy, and Mr. Villa, the 18-year-old. Less than an hour later, the police were called to an apartment building in the Bronx, where they found Kemar Soloman, 32, stabbed to death in a third-floor hallway.
“This is heartbreaking,” Mr. de Blasio said on Twitter on Sunday. “His life was just beginning.” More violence would come in the Bronx before sunrise. At around 3 a.m., the police found a man, 37, who has not been identified, fatally shot in the head in the Allerton neighborhood.
The police said that the three victims had been standing on the sidewalk when, after an argument, a gunman fired out of the moon roof of a sport utility vehicle. Then, at about 5:42 a.m., officers responding to a reported assault in the Bronx’s Belmont section discovered two men, 24 and 20, had been shot. The older man, Juancarlos Ortega, was hit in the head and died, while the younger man, shot in the groin, was in stable condition.
Mr. Villa suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The third victim, a 17-year-old, was hit in the leg and was in stable condition. The police arrested Joam Casado, 39, and charged him with murder and weapon possession in the attack, officials said.
Less than an hour after the park shooting, the police were called to an apartment building in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, where they found a man, 32, outside who had been fatally shot in the face and the chest, officials said. The man has not yet been identified. The afternoon brought a fifth homicide, this one in Queens. Just before 2:15 p.m., Shaka Ifill, 40, was shot in the back in a house in the Woodhaven neighborhood. Mr. Ifill, a Bronx resident, was taken to the hospital and succumbed to his injury four hours later, officials said.
Sean Piccoli, Alan Feuer and Emma G. Fitzsimmons contributed reporting. Less than an hour after the shooting that killed Mr. Mendez and Mr. Villa, the police were called to an apartment building in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, where they found a man, 32, outside who had been fatally shot in the face and the chest, officials said. The man has not yet been identified.
William K. Rashbaum, Sean Piccoli, Alan Feuer and Emma G. Fitzsimmons contributed reporting.