New York: first weekend without fear and without shootings since 1993
Rights — di Andrea Barolini
A grim tradition spanning a quarter of a century has been broken in New York. For the first time, an entire weekend passed without a single shot fired.
New York: first weekend without fear and without shootings since 1993
A grim tradition spanning a quarter of a century has been broken in New York. For the first time, an entire weekend passed without a single shot fired.
The weekend of 12–14 October 2018 is one that will go down in the history of the United States — and of the city of New York in particular. During those days, the Big Apple broke a grim tradition that had endured for a full quarter of a century: for the first time since 1993, not a single shooting occurred anywhere in the American metropolis, home to around 8.5 million people.
First shooting-free weekend in NYC since 1993 trib.al/ZQLrFKZ
"It's something all New Yorkers should be proud of"
"We got through Friday, Saturday and Sunday without a single shot fired and without a single murder. It's the first time this has happened in decades, and it's something that not only law enforcement but all New Yorkers should be proud of," said James O'Neill, head of the New York City Police Department, at a press conference.
In the home of guns — according to a 2016 study conducted by Harvard University and Northeastern University, there are around 265 million handguns in the United States: more than one per adult — even this makes the news. The last bullet-related injury had been recorded at midday on Thursday the 11th. A man at the wheel of a black Nissan opened fire as he drove through the Canarsie neighbourhood in Brooklyn, hitting one person before immediately fleeing. Shortly before, at 1:15 pm, a 27-year-old was shot in the foot in the Bronx.
Slight drop in shootings in New York in 2018, but murders on the rise
Satisfaction at the unusual weekend in New York was also expressed by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Indeed, the city had seen a slight fall in shootings in 2018. Statistics updated to 7 October show that since the start of the year, around 600 people had been injured by gunfire — a figure 1.1 per cent lower than the same period in 2017.
The number of murders, however, having recorded its lowest figure since the 1950s the previous year ("only" 292 people killed), rose again in 2018. In the first six months of the year there were 147 deaths: 8 per cent more than in the first half of 2017. The majority of crimes were concentrated in the Brooklyn and Bronx neighbourhoods.