Queens 10-Year-Old's Shooting Death Intensifies NYC Violence Woes

New York City NY

07 June, 2021

11:22 AM

Description

NEW YORK CITY — A Queens 10-year-old's shooting death showed the city had "work to do" in confronting a long-standing surge in violence, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "This is not a way for us to live," he said Monday. NYPD officers are still looking for a suspect who late Saturday fired multiple shots toward a Beach Street home in Edgemere — an incident caught in chilling surveillance video. Shots struck Justin Wallace, 10, in the chest, as well as a 29-year-old man in the shoulder, authorities said. Wallace died in a local hospital, prompting a painful meeting between his parents and de Blasio. De Blasio on Monday recounted talking to Wallace's family as they veered between emotions. He said Wallace was killed by a "cowardly, horrible human being" who police will find. "The pain that Justin's parents are feeling right now, no parents should ever go through that," he said. Wallace's killing — which occurred three days before his 11th birthday and after a day at the beach following the long coronavirus lockdown, the New York Daily News reported — put a spotlight on what's shaping out to be a violent year. Shootings were up 73 percent in May from the same month last year. And crime has become a major issue in the rapidly approaching mayoral primary. De Blasio, who many critics say hasn't done enough to stem the violence, said gun arrests are up by 28 percent in the city. He said the city's "Safe Summer NYC" — which, among other actions, will deploy officers to 100 blocks with the most shootings — will have an impact. But he also called for federal and state help, particularly the passage of a bill in Albany that reforms the state parole system. Parole is an issue that's looming larger and larger, he said. "It's something we can address right now," he said. De Blasio said the major issue is the proliferation of guns into New York City during the pandemic, which requires federal action.