Murders Spike In NYC Even As Crime Falls Overall

NEW YORK, NY — New York City saw a spike in murders in the first six months of this year despite a slight drop in major crime overall, police officials said Tuesday. The city had recorded 147 murders as of June 30, up 8.1 percent from 136 in the same period last year, NYPD officials said.

The increase comes after a year in which the city saw fewer than 300 murders, the lowest number in decades. Police officials emphasized that the most serious crimes — murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, car thefts, burglaries and grand larcenies — are down 1.8 percent overall this year compared to the first six months of 2017.

"While the overall crime rate continues to fall in New York City, it remains our top priority to forcefully combat the spikes in murder and other crimes where we know persistent pockets of crime still exist," Police Commissioner James O'Neill said in a statement.

The Bronx is driving the spike in killings — there have been 21 more murders there this year than last year, Chief of Department Terence Monahan said. Cops have made arrests in 33 of the borough's murder cases, he said. Police are putting more resources into the 40th and 48th precincts, where the killings have been concentrated, O'Neill said.

Among the Bronx killings was the brutal June 20 stabbing of 15-year-old Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz. Authorities have so far arrested 12 people in connection with the gang-related murder.

Shootings have caused 82 of this year's murders, up from 62 last year, despite a 5.6 percent drop in overall shootings citywide, police officials said.

"A weird thing this year is less people shot, but more people dying after they get shot," Monahan said. "Obviously, you get hit by a bullet, an inch can make a difference one way or the other."

Cops have depressed the spike in killings in the past 10 days, Monahan said. There were 152 murders as of Tuesday morning, he said, compared with 150 last year.

Rapes are also up 33.2 percent so far this year, with 155 reported in the month of June compared with 132 in June 2017, police officials said. That marks the tenth straight month with an increase in rapes.

Monahan attributed the continued spike to increased reporting by rape survivors. Police have seen a 45 percent increase in reports of domestic rapes, which is "perhaps the most historically underreported" category, he said. Rape arrests are also up 37.4 percent this year, he said.

Victims should continue coming forward "knowing the NYPD is here to support you and to fully investigate these often underreported crimes," Monahan said.

(Lead image: Photo by Maria Cormack-Pitts/Patch)