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Violence surges in New York City and Chicago

In New York City, there have been 89 shootings, a 130 percent increase over last June.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

The number of shootings has spiked in major U.S. cities in June, particularly in New York City and Chicago.

In New York City, there have been 89 shootings, a 130 percent increase compared to last June.

The latest shooting was of a 14-year-old boy struck in the neck Monday in Queens. He’s in critical condition.

On Sunday, in a particularly shocking killing caught on video, a 29-year-old man walking hand-in-hand with his 4-year-old daughter was gunned down in broad daylight. He later died of his wounds in the hospital.

In Chicago, the numbers are still more worrisome. In June, there were 562 recorded shooting victims, 85 percent higher than in June 2019.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio both have blamed Covid-19 and the economic crisis for the rise in crime, distancing themselves or their policies from blame.

De Blasio said on Monday, “There’s a lot of different pieces. Again, the fact that the court system is not working, the economy’s not working, people have been pent up for months and months. So many issues underlying this challenge.”

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Lightfoot blamed illegal guns and poverty in addition to the coronavirus.

However, in New York City at least, the NYPD is pointing the finger at New York State’s criminal justice reforms, including bail reform which requires people charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies to be released without bail.

“Shootings and murders began to noticeably rise at the beginning of the year, just as a series of criminal justice reforms were implemented — most notably the elimination of cash bail for a series of low-level crimes,” NY1 reports.

According to the Center for Court Innovation, “Bail reform went into effect January 1, 2020,” resulting in “close to nine out of 10 cases made ineligible for bail.”

In March, de Blasio admitted at a press conference that were problems with the bail reform law, promising changes would be made. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also said that changes were needed to the statewide law.