What is NYC's 'killing ground'? City's 'bloodiest' NYPD precinct reported 48 shootings so far in 2022
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY: Brooklyn’s 75th Precinct, once known as New York’s “killing ground”, is yet again seeing a significant rise in violent crimes. The 5.5-mile area, which covers East New York and Cypress Hills, has witnessed the maximum number of shootings this year. NYPD records revealed there were 48 shootings in which 56 victims were hit.
Veteran cops are unable to identify which part of the area is the most dangerous. “Asking for the worst block in the 75th is like asking for the best pizza in New York — you have too many to choose from,” one NYPD source told New York Post. A front page story of The Post dubbed the precint the city’s “KILLING GROUND” in May 1993. Around that time, there was a murder every 63 hours. NYPD’s CompStat figures, however, does not count occasions on which bullets failed to hit any victim.
READ MORE
NYC mom SHOT in drive-by while standing with her 2 children during suspected gang-related shooting
The 75th is back in its worst shape this year, with shooting incidents up 26.3% through Sunday, July 24, compared to the same period in 2021. Compared to last year, shootings doubled, up 100%, over just the previous 28 days. Meanwhile, residents are blaming soft-on-crime pols for the rise in crimes. “It’s what the people wanted,” said a worker at the Tree Food Market bodega, who gave his name as Abraham. “They wanted to defund the police, so now there is no police in the area. What do you expect?”
Georgette Outlaw, 74, sat on a bench outside her home in the Pink Houses public-housing complex in the precinct on July 17 when she was hot by a stray bullet in the abdomen around 6.30 pm. She remained hospitalized, and her daughter has said "She’s doing OK.” No one has been arrested yet. Canarsie resident Dyran Sloan often stopped by and played the card game “spades” with Outlaw. “She ain’t no troublemaker,” said Sloan, 62. “She’s an older person and walking with a walker.”
Sloan said criminals “have more powerful guns out here” than the NYPD. “They don’t carry no f–king .22s anymore. They be carrying M-16s," he said. She said the situation is now so bad that he has planned to move to Virginia. “People out here are sick. I’m tired of New York,” he said.“It’s turned into a battleground now.”
Abraham said that some people were asking him to keep himself armed, considering the danger criminals posed in the area. On March 13, a 36-year-old man survived getting shot in the neck and abdomen near Tree Food Market. “I have people, random people from the street come in and offer me guns,” Abraham said. "They say, ‘For your protection.’”
A woman, 74, who lives nearby, said there should be a heavier police presence in the area. “We need more foot patrols, please,” the woman, who gave her name as Cheryl, said. “I don’t believe in this banning the police." She added, "That’s a bunch of cr** because we need the police. We need them.”
Among several shootings that have taken place inside local bodegas was a gunfight that killed two men, ages 21 and 23, and wounded an 18-year-old man in the Raspberry Deli at 1372 Loring St. on July 4. Malachi Kirkland, 19, was arrested and charged with murder and related crimes.
In the bodega at 899 Crescent St., 36-year-old Travon Jones walked in and shot Dennis Simon, 37, in the chest around 10 pm on July 1. Jones began to strangle Simon, who grabbed Jones' gun and killed him. Authorites said it was a case of self-defense. It’s really bad,” said a man who lives across the street, giving his name as 'Yum Yum'. “There’s too many shootings back-to-back. Too many young people are dying.”
On February 9, Modassar Khandakar, 36, died after being shot in the face outside his home on Forbell Street around 12.49 am. He was found ying next to his 2009 Honda CRV, with its door open. Another incident took place on February 26 in broad daylight near 475 Riverdale Ave. in the precinct. Surveillance video posted on the NYPD showed two men firing sevral rounds at each other while one chased the other across the street.
WANTED for A Reckless Endangerment in front of 475 Riverdale Avenue @NYPD75pct on 2/26/22 @ 9:50AM. The perpetrators discharged multiple rounds at each other. Reward up to $3500 Seen them ? Know who they are ? Call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM us! Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! pic.twitter.com/zglIeQkOvI
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) March 3, 2022
Nursing student Mizy Rahman, 20, a resident of the neighborhood who has lived there his entire life, said, “It’s worse than before, definitely." "It’s very, very dangerous at night,” Rahman said, he said, noting that he avoided spetting outside after dark. “The ones who are actually doing the shootings, they’re not catching them."
A 70-year-old man at the Redwood Senior Living complex said, "You can hardly walk at night anymore. There is no respect no more for the law in this city. We just stay here and go into the apartment.” "You don’t know who you’ll find in the street," he added. "They can rob you for nothing, and they won’t just rob you, they’ll kill you, so it’s better to be at home. People used to live with the window open. Now you can’t.”