NYC gun violence continues with 9 more shot after bloody July 4 weekend

The rash of gun violence plaguing the Big Apple didn’t subside with the end of the Fourth of July weekend, with nine more people shot — including two who were killed — in the 24 hours that followed the bloody holiday.

Two people were shot dead and seven others were wounded Tuesday, in the 36 incidents across New York City.

“The unacceptable brazen and senseless violence over the holiday weekend, in some instances, goes back to exactly what we’ve said several times,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Wednesday.

“These are violent criminals who should not be on the street, either because of a lengthy criminal record or because of open cases.”

3

The top cop noted that the burst of gunplay marked a departure from what would have been an 11-week decline in shootings and homicides. She said there had been arrests in five of the weekend’s gun slayings.

Police also recovered 55 firearms and made 57 gun arrests, with a total of 580 major felony busts over the holiday, Sewell said.

“We knew going into this weekend as the Fourth of July, as the city fully reopens, required a significant amount of resources. And that is exactly what we deployed,” she said at a press conference. “Your NYPD was out there for the overwhelming number of people who simply wanted and deserved to have a nice holiday weekend with their friends and families.”

In a press conference in Queens on Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams had said the city has made some headway in reducing crime in the five boroughs — but has more to do.

“This national problem has played out on our streets,” Adams said. “We are making the right adjustments. We’re moving in the right direction and we’re going to win this battle.”

Some critics, however, continued to take aim at the mayor and at Gov. Kathy Hochul over the deadly weekend outbreak.

“While people were getting shot all over #NYC this July 4th weekend the mayor was busy taking jet ski lessons & patrolling beaches on shark patrol since he clearly has lost the war against crime on the ground,” tweeted former GOP mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa.

3

“The ultimate narcissistic, tone-deaf mayor,” Sliwa added.

The state GOP also took to Twitter on behalf of Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin.

“@KathyHochul’s crime wave has spun out of control and it is only getting worse!” the party committee tweeted. “@leezeldin and NY Republicans have a plan….”

New York City Councilman Keith Powers took a more global view, however.

“And at home — more gun violence as well. Terrible,” Powers tweeted. “Our country has a gun problem that will never be solved with more guns.”

In a statement to The Post on Wednesday, Hochul said she was committed to keeping communities safe from gun violence.

“Like all New Yorkers, I’m heartbroken over the horrific shootings in New York City this past weekend, and I will continue fighting for tough gun safety laws, investments in gun violence prevention, combating the spread of illegal guns, and strengthening public safety in every community in our state,” Hochul said.

3

Zeldin, in a statement, said of Democrats, “instead of handcuffing criminals, they’re handcuffing our police officers and justice system.”

“We must protect law enforcement more, not less, so they can take illegal firearms off our streets and safeguard our neighborhoods,” he said, also calling for the repeal of cashless bail and the ousting of left-wing district attorneys.

The July Fourth bloodshed marked a huge jump from the 32 people injured in 27 shootings over the holiday weekend last year, NYPD statistics show.

The victims cut across a gunned down by stray bullets.

Twenty-one of this year’s victims were shot on Monday’s 246th birthday of American independence. By comparison, there were 13 people shot on July 4, 2021.

Nine people were also shot on July 5, 2021, though none of them died, according to the police department data.

The violence continued on Wednesday morning, with a man shot in the leg in Brooklyn.

Additional reporting by Sam Raskin