4th of July gun violence claims 2 lives, leaves 12 wounded across NYC: NYPD

The popping of fireworks this 4th of July was followed by gunshots heard across the city that left two dead and a dozen others wounded early Wednesday, cops said.

The 14 victims were hit by gunfire in 13 shootings that took place within a nine-and-a-half-hour span between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to NYPD estimates.

Two men, one from the Bronx and one from Inwood, died in the carnage, cops said.

The barrage of bloodshed comes as the city celebrated a somewhat peaceful holiday weekend, with Mayor Adams on Tuesday calling it “one of the safest in 19 years.”

Cops could not give an official shooting number Wednesday as they investigate each incident. In many cases, a victim showed up at the hospital looking for help, making it difficult to determine just when and where they were shot, a police source with knowledge of the case said.

The number of shootings and victims could increase or decrease after each incident is reviewed, the source said.

Three others were shot in the early morning hours on Independence Day, including an incident where a 13-year-old boy was hit in the ankle in Washington Heights, cops said.

The violence began at 11:20 p.m. when a 53-year-old woman walked into Long Island Jewish Hospital in Queens with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, police said. Police later determined that she was shot on 112th Road near 194th St. in St. Albans, Queens.

Within an hour, two men showed up at separate hospitals in the Bronx. One man, 34, hobbled into Westchester Square Hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg about 12:30 a.m., cops said. Then, just before 1 a.m., a 36-year-old man showed up at Montefiore Hospital with wounds to his leg and buttocks.

Both victims claimed to have been shot a block apart at the Throggs Neck Houses, a NYCHA apartment complex behind the Trump Golf Links golf course at Ferry Point. Cops were trying to determine if both men were shot in the same incident.

In Brooklyn, a 20-year-old woman was shot in the right leg on Bristol St. at Livonia Ave. in Brownsville about 1:30 a.m., cops said. A man was grabbed at the scene and was being questioned, cops said.

As residents cleaned up used fireworks, emptied liquor bottles and hosed down a pool of blood on Bristol St, residents said shootings were quite commonplace on the block.

“They need to really stop with this sh— in this community,” said Kim Berkeley, whose son was stabbed to death in the Rockaways in 2020. “This is Bristol St., but they call it Pistol St.

“Come here at night time. (There are) people on top of the mailboxes. Dancing. Everybody smoking. People drinking like this is a f------ wild west city!”

At 1:35 a.m., a 29-year-old man walked into Lincoln Hospital with a gunshot wound to the left leg. Investigators learned that he had been shot 15 minutes earlier on E. 160th St. near Jackson Ave. in Melrose, cops said.

About six minutes later, another man, 21, walked into Bronx Lebanon Hospital with a gunshot wound to the right arm. Police believe he had been shot on East 176th St. and Grand Concourse.

Over in Inwood, a gunman on a scooter shot 30-year-old Angel Cruzeta in the face on Vermilyea Ave. near W. 204th St. at 1:45 a.m., cops said. EMS rushed the man to Harlem Hospital, but he couldn’t be saved.

The gunman sped off on the scooter following the 1:45 a.m. shooting and remained on the loose Wednesday.

“They rolled up on him and shot him in the head,” an eyewitness who refused to give his name told the Daily News.

The sidewalk outside the Vermilyea Ave. building where Cruzeta was gunned down is a notorious market for narcotics.

Last year, it was the scene of a deadly shootout in which a drug trafficker pulled a gun on undercover officers during a sting operation involving NYPD, state and federal law enforcement.

Shortly after 2 a.m. a 20-year-old man was shot in the right leg on Chester St. near Dumont Ave. in Brownsville, cops said.

“I was wondering, when I turn on the TV, what are they gonna tell me (about what) happened on the Fourth of July, how many people got hurt, got shot,” said one area resident, who would only identify herself as Miss Mona.

“You can’t even have a decent holiday where nothing goes wrong,” Mona, 74, said. “People look at it now like norm(al). It would be weird if nothing happened.”

At around the same time, in the Bronx, two teens were shot, one fatally, on Morris Ave. near E. 182nd St. in Fordham Heights.

Twelve shots were fired at the victims, cops said. The 18-year-old was shot in the leg and later died at St. Barnabas Hospital, cops said. A 19-year-old victim was hit in the hip and survived.

Cops arrested 19-year-old Bronx resident Ariel Velasquez and 28-year-old Brooklyn man Ramon Santos at the scene and charged the pair with murder, attempted murder and manslaughter at the 46th Precinct stationhouse, according to police.

Residents of Morris Ave. shot off fireworks on the street all night. Spent firework casings and shells could be found littering the street Wednesday morning, near a blood-stained Tesla.

Area residents were crestfallen to learn that gun violence had blighted their day of national festivity.

”Fourth of July is supposed to be a time for celebration — not shooting people,” said the 54-year-old local man, who decliend to give his name. ”It’s just sad... really sad.”

“This block is bad,” he added. “I wouldn’t want to be out at night here, too much craziness.”

The bloodshed continued after 3:30 a.m. when a 21-year-old woman was shot in the left arm outside the Washington Houses in Harlem. She took herself to Metropolitan Hospital for treatment, cops said.

A half-hour later in Brooklyn, a 42-year-old man was rushed to NYU-Langone Hospital Brooklyn after being shot in both legs. The victim had been shot outside the Coney Island Houses on Surf Ave., cops said. A suspect was taken into custody for the shooting, but had not been charged.

The mayhem continued after the sun came up, cops said. At 7:20 a.m. a 27-year-old man showed up at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital bleeding from a gunshot wound to the right leg. Police believe he had been shot hours earlier, possibly in the Bronx.

Then, at 8:30 a.m. in the Bronx a 52-year-old man was shot and slashed on Harding Park near Gildersleeve Ave. in Soundview.

Between July 1 and July 4, 16 people had been shot in 10 separate incidents, according to unofficial statistics. In addition, two people had been murdered.

The earlier shootings include two clashes in the Bronx where seven people, including a 12-year-old girl were wounded.

Despite the bloodshed, the weekend’s violence was a vast improvement over previous years, cops said.

During the same four days in 2022, 58 people were shot in 51 clashes and eight homicides were investigated, police said.

In 2020, nine people were killed and 41 people were wounded in a series of shootings that erupted during Fourth of July celebrations, cops said.

As of July 2, cops have seen a 26% drop in shooting victims this year, from 781 this time last year to 573, cops said. Homicides were also down by 9%, from 221 to 200.

“Honestly that number is a little bit,” Berkeley said about the 4th of July violence. “That’s actually a nice number.”