gun violence

3 More Fatal Shootings in NYC Monday Afternoon as Gun Violence Rages

Combined with incidents over the weekend, at least 5 people were shot to death in New York City in about 48 hours

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Three people were shot and killed in New York City in three separate incidents Monday afternoon, as the city grapples with a wave of gun violence authorities are struggling to get under control.

A woman was killed by a bullet that may have been meant for someone else in a midday shootout on a Bronx sidewalk, a man was killed in the Bronx by a bullet to the back, and another man died of a gunshot wound to the chest outside of a Queens lounge -- all within about seven hours of each other.

Combined with two other incidents overnight Saturday into Sunday, in total at least five people were shot and killed in the city in about 48 hours.

NYC Gun Violence

To be sure, the numbers are all relatively. The murder rate in New York City was 50% higher just seven years ago - and a generation ago, it was fully six times higher than it is today.

But in a city where almost every major category of crime was up sharply in January (with shooting incidents up more than 30%), murders were the one small ray of hope, actually declining year over year. February, though, has started off on a more difficult footing.

Since Mayor Eric Adams introduced his "Blueprint to End Gun Violence" on Jan. 24, more than two dozen people have been shot in the city, nearly double last year.

Police say a 39-year-old woman was one of three people shot on Monday afternoon in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx after a gunman opened fire from inside a vehicle and someone shot back. The other two victims, a 32-year-old and 23-year-old man, were shot in the back, but Gloria Ortiz was fatally shot in the head.

A surveillance video from a building nearby shows the gun violence unfolded just after 4 p.m. A group of people who stood in front of a garage on East 137th Street scattered for their lives as shots came from white BWM that drove past them.

One of the people initially hiding from the bullets can be seen pulling out a gun and firing back at the car. The person then appeared to run down the street after the car.

Investigators have yet to share whether all the victims were intended targets or innocent bystanders. It's also unclear who shot them --- the drive-by shooter or the person who returned fire.

Some of Adams' plan require approval from state lawmakers in Albany, who appear to be fairly noncommittal to the changes because of ideological differences and politics. Adams is also doing what he can on his own. NBC New York's Melissa Russo reports.

About six hours later, at the other end of the Bronx, cops responded to a shooting in the 2600 block of Sedgwick Avenue. The victim, Christian Bueno, 39, had a gunshot wound to the torso; he was taken to St. Barnabas, where he died.

There were no arrests as of Tuesday morning.

Roughly 90 minutes later, police responded to a shooting about 11:30 p.m. in front of a Linden Boulevard sports lounge in Queens. The victim, Diquan Orr, 33, was found with a gunshot wound to the chest, and later died at a Nassau County hospital.

Police are investigating whether a dispute of some kind in the lounge may have precipitated the shooting; there were no arrests as of early Tuesday.

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