Bloody Weekend in NYC as 24 Shot in 24 Hours, Mayor Bloomberg Calls on Washington D.C. to Help

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said tougher gun laws are needed after 24 people shot, one fatal, in 24 hours in his city. Bloomberg called the gun violence "unconscionable" and demanded action from Washington D.C. Twelve victims were shot in 14 separate incidents in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. No arrests have been made to-date in any of these shootings. Shaquan Walters, 11, was shot in the right leg, as well as two girls, ages 13 and 14, at a barbecue in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx. Police have launched a manhunt for Mount Vernon resident Oneil Dasilva, 17, the suspected gunman. Five males were also shot during that barrage of bullets.

The mayor said 24 people shot in 24 hours in the city "is just unconscionable." "We cannot tolerate it," Bloomberg said while speaking at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn. "There are just too many guns on the streets and we have to do something about it." Overall, gun violence in the city is down 5.9% from last year. As of Aug. 28, 1,123 people had been shot in New York this year, according to the NYPD.

In the 24 hours of bloodshed, only one victim was fatally shot, a 30-year-old man found just after 2 a.m. yesterday with bullet wounds in the head and back in a home on E. 93rd St. in Flatbush. The cycle of gun violence began about 6 a.m. Saturday when a 35-year-old woman was shot and wounded at Saratoga Ave. and Newport St. in Brooklyn. During one 18-minute stretch between 2:12 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. yesterday, five men were shot in three separate incidents, including three wounded at a house on Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway Park, Queens. Source: NY Daily News

It's really a sad commentary that we are seeing gun violence escalate with no end in sight. There should be zero tolerance in enforcing the law where guns are concerned. We can't have these gunmen just indiscriminately firing their weapons, many illegal weapons, in the air without regard for others. We aren't living in the Wild West. Whoever is harboring Oneil Dasilva needs to pick up the phone and turn him in.

UPDATE#1: The violence in New York City over the past weekend has jumped from 25 as of Sunday night to 31 in 48 hours -- six more people shot in three separate incidents in Brooklyn. Tyrief Gary was fatally shot at a barbecue on East 54th Street in Brooklyn early Monday morning. He was one of four people shot at the barbecue. A man and a woman were also shot early Monday morning as well. They are both listed in critical condition.

UPDATE#2: More gunfire erupted in New York City near the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, not far from Mayor Bloomberg as he was marching in the parade. According to the NY Post, by noon, the number of people who have been shot since Friday now stands at 39 and counting. Just before noon a fool fired into the air several blocks from the start of the parade. He fled, but was caught quickly. He is now in police custody. Instead of washing his face with a carton of milk after the cops maced him, they should have used some extra spicy jerk sauce or some Scotch bonnet pepper instead. POS