Two separate triple shootings in Brooklyn and Queens over the span of just a few hours Tuesday left one man dead and five others injured, police said.
The first shooting occurred in Far Rockaway around 2 p.m., according to police. Three people were said to be standing in a courtyard at an apartment unit along Far Rockaway Boulevard and Bay 32 Street when the gunman opened fire, spraying multiple shots into the area.
A 20-year-old man who was shot in the chest died, police said, while a 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman struck in the leg and ankle were brought to Jamaica Hospital, where they are expected to survive. The shooter fled east down Far Rockaway Boulevard.
Later in Bed-Stuy, the FDNY said it received a call just before 5 p.m. regarding a shooting at the Lafayette Gardens housing complex on DeKalb Avenue. Three people were shot right outside the building, police said. All three victims were rushed to Methodist Hospital, the FDNY said, one of whom was clinging to life.
The bloodshed comes comes after a violent weekend across the city that included a 6-year-old boy and his mother getting shot during a J'Ouvert celebration in Crown Heights typically held before the West Indian Day Parade, which was not held in person this year.
The NYPD's new community affairs rapid response team was at the scene over the weekend, part of of the department's new strategy to connect with the public and drive down crime.
It also comes as the NYPD says it's taking more guns off the streets than ever before. There were 160 gun arrests last week, and another 37 were made on Monday.
"I look at that two ways. It’s good that we got them off the street but it’s bad that people are carrying them," Shea said, adding that gun arrests were at a 25-year high.
Through the end of August, shooting incidents are up 87 percent and shooting victims are up 96 percent this year versus last, according to CompStat data.
