A citywide drop in shootings so far this year continued into Independence Day, as both police and community groups worked to prevent armed conflicts on a holiday often plagued by gun violence.
Here, in the first six months of 2023, shootings have declined more than 25% and homicides have fallen about 10% compared to the same period in 2022,. Experts said various factors are likely contributing to the drop in violence, and that it’s hard to isolate any one cause.
He said the organization started its violence prevention efforts early this summer and canvassed East Flatbush to urge residents to keep the peace during the Fourth of July festivities. Hines said more programming for kids and teens in the neighborhood has also helped to keep them out of trouble. Molina said members of his team were talking to residents to get the details on what happened and going to the hospital to calm down friends and family who might want to retaliate. He said maybe next year the group’s violence interrupters would slightly shift their schedules to have more of a presence in the neighborhood when shootings are likely to happen. But he said the holiday poses a particular challenge for people working to curb gun violence.
Neighbors said they’d been looking forward to the community’s annual block party at the intersection of Wheeler and Westchester avenues: a family-friendly get-together that’s been a local tradition for two decades, by some accounts. Residents said the whole block chips in to provide food, drinks and entertainment.
Some residents said they felt threatened. Others said they felt disrespected or singled out for shooting fireworks — a popular Fourth of July pastime they said residents of other communities enjoy without being harassed by police.
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