Gun violence broke out this weekend across New York City. Twenty-five people were shot, and six were killed, all within a span of 48 hours.
Twelve people were shot in Brooklyn, eight in the Bronx, four in Queens and one in Manhattan. Four people were shot in four different shootings in Brooklyn on Sunday night alone, The Associated Press reported.
Saturday and Sunday’s tragedies represented 5 percent of this year’s total shootings, tallying roughly 440. Despite this weekend’s overwhelming numbers, the figure marks a 23 percent decline compared to the 574 victims shot at this same time last year, according to the New York Daily News.
This weekend’s surge in gun violence is likely to add fire to ongoing gun control debates. New York is among the strictest states on gun control, most recently passing the NY SAFE Act in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, director of the coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is taking his fight to state capitals after Congress has failed to move on new legislation, the New York Times reports.
The group hired more than 50 representatives to fight in support of various gun proposals that have been introduced in state legislatures including Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Maryland, Delaware and Connecticut.
The New York Daily News has more information on this weekend’s tragedies, including a list of the deaths.