EXCLUSIVE: A Marine hit by a ricocheting bullet in Times Square, an elderly woman assaulted by a homeless man for being 'disrespectful,' nightly wildings in Washington Square: Seven days of out-of-control murder and mayhem in NYC
The sun is out. The tourists are back. There are fewer masked faces. Yet, while New York City should be leading the nation in the economic recovery from Covid, the City That Never Sleeps is facing its own epidemic.
Shootings, rape, stabbings and general mayhem are running rampant throughout the Five Boroughs with authorities seemingly unable to do anything to stop it.
Latest official figures show murders citywide are up 12 percent from 189 at this time last year to 212 so far in 2021.
Rapes are up from 650 to 684 in the year to June 27. Felony assaults are up from 9,399 to 10,045.
The most dramatic crease is in gun violence, with incidents up 43 percent from 503 to 718 and those injured or killed up 36 percent from 606 to 826.
In just one week - from Wednesday, June 23 through Tuesday, June 29 - all five boroughs of New York City were plagued by chilling murders, drive-by shootings, nightly wildings in Washington Square Park and smaller random acts of violence.
Here DailyMail.com examines that week of murder and mayhem in the rotting Big Apple.
Felony assaults and murders in New York City have gone up this year compared to the same period in 2020, according to NYPD data
Crime has intensified in New York City as shootings, stabbings and rapes run rampant in the City That Never Sleeps
WEDNESDAY JUNE 23
On Wednesday, June 23 a man dismounted a dirt bike and opened fire at an Acura SUV in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. A bullet passes through the open driver's-side window but the 25-year-old in the car is not hit
On June 24, a pair of elderly diners outside of Think Coffee on Bleeker Street in Lower Manhattan (file photo) were allegedly attacked by a homeless man who claimed they were being 'disrespectful for not giving him money'
On June 25, the New York Police Department investigated the scene after five people, including three teens, were injured after a shooting at a graduation party in the Bronx. The shooting happened after three males were denied entry to the graduation party
On June 25, Angel Caraballo, 19, is shot and killed in an apartment building in the beachside community of Rockaway in Queens on June 25. Security cameras catch Caraballo running down the stairs clutching his side before collapsing outside. He is taken to the hospital where he dies
Latest NYC figures show rise in violent crime
urders citywide are up 12 percent from 189 at this time last year to 212 so far in 2021Rapes are up from 650 to 684 in the year to June 27Felony assaults have grown from 9,399 to 10,045The biggest increase is in gun violence, with incidents up 43 percent from 503 to 718 The number of those injured or killed is up 36 percent from 606 to 826THURSDAY JUNE 24
FRIDAY JUNE 25
On Saturday, June 26, a knife-wielding middle-aged man slashed another man in McCaffrey Park in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. The attacker then fled eastward down 43rd Street
In Times Square on Sunday a 21-year-old U.S. Marine visiting the city from Upstate Northville, New York, with his family, was hit by a ricocheting bullet as a dispute between two CD sellers in Times Square allegedly erupted
SATURDAY JUNE 26
Samuel Poulin is the Marine who was shot in the back in Times Square Sunday and is the newlywed son of former Pentagon official Col. Jack Jensen
SUNDAY JUNE 27
On June 27, Dylan Spinosa was stabbed at the Staten Island Ferry after some spewed a gay slur at him. His right arm is in a sling, and his upper back is bandaged
On Sunday, June 27, Keyshawn Cureton, 21, was shot multiple times and killed after getting into an argument on Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem. One man is arrested, a second is being sought. Both suspects are pictured
Nader Hassaneen, an Egyptian immigrant and retired street vendor, was attacked in Washington Square Park on Sunday night, receiving a smashed lip and bloody nose. He was seen bleeding from his head after being punched in the face several times by a woman
People could be seen tending to Hassaneen in the street following the beating late on Sunday night
MONDAY JUNE 28
Map shows locations of shootings in New York City on Monday night, June 29
While the crime rate soared, downtown residents around Washington Square Park have been harassed almost nightly by wild parties that have dragged on into the early hours
By Monday the thin blue line was stretched even further when officers were deployed en masse to Washington Square Park to enforce a midnight curfew
On Monday June 29, Steve Hunt, 46, allegedly pulled an axe from his backpack as an argument with another man took a nasty turn on a crowded downtown subway. Fellow travelers rushed from the No. 2 train at Penn Station to find police who ordered Hunt to drop the axe. He was arrested and charged with harassment, weapons possession, menacing and disorderly conduct
Police said 32-year-old Devin Campbell was fatally shot outside the Grant Houses housing project in Harlem at around 7:30 p.m. local time on Monday June 28
On Monday, June 28 a 19-year-old was shot as he played basketball in an annual tournament in the Amsterdam Houses in west midtown, Manhattan. Jaylin Anderson tells police he was in the game and suddenly felt pain and realized he had been hit. Police do not believe he was the intended target
TUESDAY JUNE 29
Members of the New York Police Department push back people after a food vendor was attacked on Sunday
Crime is at his highest as events - like Sunday's Gay Pride Parade - has the streets packed with tourists and city-dwellers out and celebrating
Police clashed with revelers during Gay Pride festivities after trying to clear a street on the edge of Washington Square Park
Police dragged away a woman during a skirmish with police on Sunday afternoon at Washington Square Park. Sunday's shootings happened as New York City was packed with thousands of tourists, stragglers from the day's Pride festivities and locals
At least three people were arrested as officers and Pride participants were battling against one another
Critics blame Mayor Bill DeBlasio and anti-police sentiment for rise in crime
Critics put the blame for the ever-rising tide of crime on the shoulders of Mayor Bill DeBlasio and politicians in Albany for leading anti-police sentiment. 'It's a direct result of far-left policy being put into action,' the city's sole Republican in Congress told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
'The bail reform law has been a disaster,' said Rep Nicole Malliotosis. 'People with extensive criminal histories are arrested for major crimes and then released and are back out on the streets.'
And Ed Mullins, president of the NYPD's Sergeant Benevolent Association added: 'Nobody is talking about why this is happening. You have to address the real problems, enforce laws, have District Attorneys prosecute crimes and have bail that actually works.
'The cops aren't allowed to do anything,' added Mullins. 'This administration doesn't want confrontation. They're afraid of any backlash, any protests.
'The police department is trying to appease the people who are violating the law, but we're learning that appeasement doesn't work.'
Critics put the blame for the rising crime on the shoulders of Mayor Bill DeBlasio and politicians in Albany for leading anti-police sentiment
Through the first five months of 2021, the total number of major crimes measured by the police department has been at its lowest level since comparable statistics became available in the 1990s
Nothing stirred New Yorkers' consciences more than seeing security camera footage of two little kids — five-year-old Christian and his sister Mia, 13 — caught in crossfire as Michael Lopez allegedly opened fire in the Bronx.
'The images of a 13-year-old girl shielding her 5-year-old brother from bullets fired by a gunman in broad daylight on a Thursday afternoon, that heart-wrenching video was seen around the world,' said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.
The children had gone to buy bread for their parents when they were nearly killed as Lopez, 27 — an alleged member of the Make It Happen Boyz gang — opened fire as he chased another man.
Lopez was out on parole for attempted murder, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig revealed after his arrest — his fifth.
But that was only the start of the crimewave, so violent that President Joe Biden directed COVID funds to be deployed in New York and other major cities to combat it.
The world was shocked when video went viral of two children — five-year-old Christian and his sister Mia, 13 — caught in crossfire as Michael Lopez allegedly opened fire in the Bronx
Michael Lopez, 27, is walked out of the 44th Precinct after police charge him with attempted murder in the June 17 shooting incident where he fired on a person with 2 children present
Police are now flooding Times Square — the busiest tourist area in the country —with dozens of extra cops as the shooting of a Marine was the second there in two months. A 4-year-old girl and two women were hit by stray bullets at noon on May 8
There was 21-year-old U.S. Marine 2nd Lt. Samuel Poulin, visiting the city from Upstate Northville, New York, with his family, who was hit by a ricocheting bullet as a dispute between two CD sellers in Times Square allegedly erupted.
That happened on Sunday afternoon as the so-called Center of the Universe was packed with thousands of tourists, stragglers from the day's Pride festivities and locals.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district covers the eastern part of the Bronx and northern Queens said there is media 'hysteria' over the increases
'I heard a loud pop, I thought it was a firecracker,' Sydney Santana, a visitor from New Orleans told DailyMail.com. 'Then I saw all the detectives come in and I realized it was something more serious.'
Security camera footage shows a man appear to fire twice as he ran down 45th Street near the famed Marriott Marquis Hotel.
Police are now flooding Times Square — the busiest tourist area in the country —with dozens of extra cops as Poulin's shooting was the second there in two months. A 4-year-old girl and two women were hit by stray bullets at noon on May 8.
But that means taking cops from other areas. Rep. Malliotosis said her district, which includes Staten Island where many cops live, is being punished by having fewer patrols.
'And I bet the city council member who represents Times Square voted to defund the police,' she said. That politician, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, did not return DailyMail.com's request for comment. He voted to slash the NYPD budget by $1 billion year.
Not everyone thinks there is a crisis. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district covers the eastern part of the Bronx and northern Queens said there is media 'hysteria' over the increases.
'Any amount of harm is unacceptable and too much. But I also want to make sure that it doesn't drive a hysteria and that we look at these numbers in context so that we can make responsible decisions about what to allocate in that context,' she said during a Zoom chat with fellow progressive congress member Jamaal Bowman.
By Friday last week there were semi-organized boxing matches complete with referees and timekeepers at Washington Square Park
People crowded around and cheered as unofficial boxing matches were held in Washington Square Park
While the crime rate soared, downtown residents around Washington Square Park were being harassed almost nightly by wild parties that have dragged on into the early hours.
By Friday last week there were semi-organized boxing matches complete with referees and timekeepers. On Sunday, at the end of the Pride parade, topless women were frolicking in the fountains, but it all turned sour when a vendor was assaulted, allegedly for using an anti-gay slur and eight people were arrested.
By Monday the thin blue line was stretched even further when officers were deployed en masse to the park to enforce a midnight curfew.
By Friday last week there were semi-organized boxing matches complete with referees and timekeepers. On Sunday, at the end of the Pride parade, topless women were frolicking in the fountains, but it all turned sour when a vendor was assaulted, allegedly for using an anti-gay slur and eight people were arrested.
By Monday the thin blue line was stretched even further when officers were deployed en masse to the park to enforce a midnight curfew.