Shootings in New York City last month were more than double the previous June, authorities have said.
In a statement on Monday, New York’s police department (NYPD) said incidents had “significantly spiked” and risen across all boroughs, despite some restrictions in place over the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some 205 shooting incidents were documented in June, up from 89 in the same month in 2019.
“The number of people victimised by gun violence and murder in New York City spiked significantly, when compared to the same period in 2019,” said the NYPD.
The department added that shootings were up 130 per cent on June 2019.
It comes as CBS New York reported 44 incidents across the holiday weekend alone, which see 64 victims and 11 killed.
NYPD police commissioner Dermot Shea said: “The sharp increase in shootings and violence in New York puts innocent people at risk and tears at the fabric of life in our city,”
He added that the department had been hit with “deep budget cuts” combined with changes to the criminal justice system amid Covid-19.
“But through it all, I have seen our hardworking men and women display an unwavering commitment to the kind of fair and effective policing that defines our agency and that New Yorkers expect and deserve,” said Mr Shea.
The police commissioner last week condemned New York City Council’s ban on chokeholds, which he said was “poorly-conceived and -written”.
Those comments came as the council approved plans to cut $484 million (£387m) from the police department’s budget amid nationwide calls to defund police units over the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis police custody in May.
The NYPD announcement on Monday said other crimes including robberies and murders had increased on the previous month, as coronavirus restrictions are eased.
There were 39 murders in New York City in June, up 30 per cent on the previous month, and 118 per cent more robberies.
