Mayor Eric Adams delivered his national crime address on Thursday night as he came under fire for a string of local shootings, telling NBC at a meeting that America’s political extremes were holding the nation “hostage.” of the crime.
He made the remarks as he was pressed by “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt on the Big Apple’s own struggles to bring violence back to pre-pandemic levels in an interview that aired the same day the NYPD revealed crime jumped 31%.
“There are two battles going on in our country, in our city right now. You have the far right saying, give everyone a gun no matter what,” Hizzoner told Holt.
“You have to go to the far left to say anyone who uses a gun shouldn’t be held accountable.”
Adams continued, “These two groups are not the majority of Americans. And they actually took our country and our city hostage. These two groups fail to realize that they are complicit in the public safety crisis we face in our city and our country.
It’s a line Adams has used frequently before as he pressed federal lawmakers to toughen gun laws in the wake of a supermarket massacre in Buffalo that left 10 people dead and the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Adams sat down with Holt as his administration came under increasing pressure to curb shootings and violent crime, issues the former NYPD officer vowed to bring to the fore as he campaigned for the election. in 2021.
New York City recorded 638 shootings between Jan. 1 and June 30, up from 737 during the same period in 2021 — but still nearly double the low of 337 shootings recorded in those six months in 2018.
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