“We saw a quiet Tuesday morning turn an N train into a war zone as a smoke bomb was detonated and multiple shots rang out.”
That’s how New York City mayor Eric Adams described the subway attack in Brooklyn that left five people with critical gunshot injuries, another dozen or so with other injuries and left all of New York stunned and shocked into silence.
For those who are catching up, here’s what happened: A gunman wearing a gas mask filled a crowded New York subway car with thick black smoke from a canister and opened fire on morning rush-hour passengers.
Authorities later identified Frank James, 62, as a person of interest in connection to the shooting.
According to reports, James rented a U-Haul van in Philadelphia and has addresses there and in Wisconsin. As of late Tuesday night, officials had no one in police custody. A $50,000 reward has been offered for any information in the incident.
President Joe Biden was later quoted as saying, “We’re not letting up until we find the perpetrator.” He thanked professional first responders and civilians who rushed to help their fellow travellers amid the panic.
Biden added that he and the First Lady, Jill Biden, were “praying for all those touched by this trauma”.
The incident once again puts the spotlight on America’s gun culture and how New York City isn’t as safe as it seems. We take a look at the recent gun violence in the American city.
Right to bear arms and its link to rising gun violence
Guns are deeply ingrained in American society; in fact, a survey carried out as recently as September 2021, showed that about a third of US adults say they personally own a gun.
This gun culture stems from the Second Amendment in the US Constitution.
So, what is this Second Amendment all about? The US Constitution gives citizens the right to carry arms to defend themselves as private militia is permitted to exist. The Constitution says that this right cannot be infringed upon.
The Second Amendment reads, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” In modern times, this has been interpreted as an individual’s right to carry and use arms for self-defence.
Today, this Second Amendment is at the heart of the debate on gun control in America. Gun control advocates say there is no longer a compelling need for people to “keep and bear arms” as there was when the Constitution was ratified in 1791. They sometimes add the argument that the constitutionally guaranteed right was never meant to apply to individuals.
Prevalence of gun violence in New York
New York Police Department (NYPD) data has revealed that shootings in New York City have risen during 2022’s first quarter compared with the same period last year.
Shooting incidents increased from 260 to 296 in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, according to the latest statistics, which include the first three days of April.
A Fox News report revealed that many of the crimes perpetrated in 2022 were done by repeat offenders.
"It's clear what we are confronting: A perception among criminals that there are no consequences, even for serious crime," New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell was quoted as saying.
The data also showed that about half of the city's shootings have occurred in 10 neighbourhoods – five in the Bronx, four in Brooklyn and one in Queens.
The situation wasn’t any better in 2021. New York City closed out the last year with some of the worst crimes statistics.
Shooting in the city rose up by two per cent from 2020 and stood at 1,546 incidents. Homicides in the city also witnessed a significant jump from 468 to 480.
Protecting the Big Apple
With the growing incidents of violence, New York City mayor Eric Adams in January announced his 'Blueprint to End Gun Violence', promising to increase police officers in New York's most violence-plagued communities.
According to his plan, more police officers would be put on patrol in 30 of the city's 77 precincts where 80 per cent of the city's violence occurs.
Moreover, travellers into New York City would be screened for illegal guns with facial recognition technology at new "spot checks" at various entry points.
The NYPD has also reintroduced the controversial anti-gun plainclothes unit, which had been disbanded in 2020 over allegations of brutality and excessive force.
The unit, while welcomed, is a sensitive subject. The unit was dismantled for using tactics which were declared unconstitutional. Residents and civil rights advocates had complained for years that the unit used excessive force and that it targeted people of colour who it found “suspicious.”
This time, however, there are major changes. The cops in the new units will be clearly marked as NYPD officers. They will wear navy blue tactical pants, black boots or shoes with a polo shirt, quarter-zip sweatshirt or Neighbourhood Safety vest that has NYPD clearly written on the back and front, along with patches bearing the officer’s name, shield, rank and command.
It is important to note that the subway attack in Brooklyn in New York City took place just as the Biden administration announced that it would be unveiling new rules regarding ghost guns.
For the unaware, are privately-made firearms without serial numbers. The NYPD has already recovered 131 such firearms in this year alone, a staggering 351 per cent increase over the 29 recovered by cops during the same period in 2021.
The ghost guns made up 12 per cent of all guns recovered so far, according to the NYPD.
As New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on the incident, "We are sick and tired of reading headlines about crime. The people of the entire state of New York stand with the people of this city and this community, and we say ‘No more'. No more mass shootings; no more disrupting lives; no more creating heartbreak for people just trying to live their lives as normal New Yorkers."
With inputs from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
0 Comments: