It was 10:30 at night when a shooting occurred at this intersection of East 123rd Street and Lexington Avenue, in which Amir James, a teenager of only 15 years old, was killed.
A mother and her daughter, who is only one year old, always passes by this same corner, who did not want to share her name for safety reasons, but this neighbor said that the area is dangerous: “It’s a bit scary to walk but we have to do it I hope the police see and it is necessary for the police to stop in this area because there are hardly any police here. ”
Amir was shot in the chest and the injuries caused his death. In that same shooting, a 30-year-old man was injured in the knee but is expected to recover.
Police have not yet released details about the gunman and as of Tuesday morning, few traces of the incident remained at the intersection.
Another neighbor passed by, Luz Silva, who lamented the death of the minor and assures that crime is on the rise in the neighborhood: “It is very dangerous here, I shoot myself because I have to go to the doctor at the hospital otherwise I don’t shoot myself. I shoot with my brothers, not my husband out there. This is the most dangerous block in the entire neighborhood because there is a lot of drugs here. “
In various areas of the city, another 10 people were injured in five more shootings that took place in less than six hours after 4 p.m. on Memorial Day.
In Bushwick near a warehouse, five men between the ages of 19 and 38 were shot.
Another shooting happened in Queens on 145th Street and Jamaica Avenue where a man was shot.
While in Brooklyn, in Crown Heights, a man in his 20s was injured.
And on Staten Island, two 19- and 20-year-olds are recovering after another shooting.
Martha Rodríguez, works in the area: “It is terrible, they have to stop the violence, they have to do something about having illegal firearms. People who like to use firearms.”
So far this year an increase in shootings of 80% has been reported, compared to last year’s figures. In all these cases the police ask for the collaboration of the public. If you know anything call the confidential Crime Stoppers line 1-888-57-PISTA.
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