Violent weekend in New York sees 20 people shot, four fatally
A wave of violence swept New York over the weekend as at least 20 people were shot, four of them fatally.
A wave of violence swept New York over the weekend as at least 20 people were shot, four of them fatally.
The shootings, which included the separate woundings of two boys aged 10 and 12, made for the third weekend in June that at least a dozen people were shot in the city, police said.
This year, 611 people have been shot in the city compared with 554 for the same period last year.
"We've had ... a temporary increase in shootings," Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said. "Crime goes up, it goes down."
After a crime drop in recent years, the spate of violence has raised concern.
The bloodshed spilled into Monday when a man demanding a job at an ironworks opened fire and wounded two employees. He kept police officers at bay for two hours before killing himself.
Bratton said more than 1,000 young police academy graduates would soon be patrolling city streets, partnering veteran officers in the most violent, crime-ridden neighbourhoods.
