A violent weekend marked the end of a relatively unsettled period in Brooklyn as some neighborhoods reported spikes in violent crime, according to the latest NYPD data.
The evening commute on at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets station in the 84th Precinct turned violent on March 14 when one man, who was being attacked on board an A train, grabbed his aggressor’s gun and fired several shots, leaving the attacker critically injured.
Days later, in the wee hours of March 16, a 23-year-old man was shot dead outside a Canarsie nightclub, within the 67th Precinct. That night, in the same precinct, a 67-year-old man died after a 31-year-old man allegedly punched him in the head during an argument at a gas station.
Shots flew in the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station on March 14 after a brawl on board an A train. Photo courtesy of GeneralPunger/Wikimedia Commons
Two girls — twin sisters — were brutally assaulted in Park Slope’s 78th Precinct on the morning of March 17, per police. One, 19-year-old Samiya Spain, was fatally stabbed in the chest. And that night, a three-year-old boy was found dead from a head injury in an East Flatbush apartment, also in the 67th Precinct.
Police later arrested 29-year-old Kevin James in connection with the death of the toddler.
The spate of violence came after nearly a month of decreasing crime rates in the Brooklyn South patrol, where four of the weekend’s incidents occurred. During that same period, from Feb. 19 to March 19, crime rose slightly in Brooklyn North, compared to the same period last year.
The Brooklyn South patrol, which encompasses 13 precincts, reported a 12.41% drop in major felonies during that time. Rates of all seven major felonies — murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny, and grand larceny auto — decreased, though the most recent statistics did not appear to reflect the most recent homicides in the 67th Precinct.
Then data show Brooklyn South experienced a 25% drop in homicides compared to last year, from four to three – with only one precinct, the 78th in Park Slope, reporting an uptick in murders. The 71st Precinct in Crown Heights saw one homicide, the same as last year, while the 67th Precinct, reportedly saw one, down from two — not counting the three incidents reported in the area last weekend.
But Brooklyn North, which covers ten precincts, the overall rate of major felonies rose by 1.2%, with marked increases in homicide, rape, robbery, assault, and grand larceny. Only burglary and grand larceny auto decreased in the precinct, and a total of 1,088 incidents were reported, up slightly from 1,075.
Homicide increased by 100% in Brooklyn North, from three to six — three homicides were reported in the 77th Precinct, which includes parts of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, including the murder of 13-year-old Troy Gill. The 73rd Precinct, which includes Brownsville and Ocean Hill, saw two homicides, including the March 13 shooting of an unidentified 37-year-old man at Brownsville Houses.
The Brooklyn South patrol reported an overall drop in crime, while it ticked up slightly in Brooklyn North. File photo by Lloyd Mitchell
One homicide was reported in the 81st Precinct, which includes Bedford-Stuyvesant and Stuyvesant Heights.
Overall, from Feb. 17-March 19, seven of Brooklyn’s 23 individual precincts saw a rise in crime. Ten reported increases in robberies, nine saw an uptick in assault, and eight reported a rise in grand larceny auto. Despite the scattered spikes, overall violent crime was down across Brooklyn year-to-date and compared to 2022.
Transit crime was also down by 35.3% in Brooklyn South, from 17 to 11, while shootings dropped by more than 66%, from nine to three. Hate crimes, though, jumped 175%, from four to 11. Traffic fatalities, a new addition to the NYPD’s regular stats, were flat at three.
In Brooklyn North, though, transit crimes jumped by 53.7%, from 13 to 20, while shootings remained flat at 13 and hate crimes dropped by 50%. Three traffic deaths were reported in the patrol during the most recent 28-day period, up 50% from two last year.
