Police Blotter: Spate of Shootings Surrounding Hurricane Irene

The 81st Precinct is reporting a 3 percent decrease in the number of crimes (31 incidents versus 32 incidents) for the week August 15 -21, compared to this same week last year. For the month, the precinct has experienced a .8 percent decrease (123 incidents versus 124 incidents), compared to this same 28-day period last year. And crime incidents year-to-date are up almost 9 percent (880 incidents versus 809 incidents), compared to this same time period in 2010.

Police are reporting a spate of gun violence that has occurred in and around the dates of Hurricane Irene. Police characterize these as "crimes of opportunity," when people are often more focused on other things and less aware of their immediate surroundings. Because of this, police advise all residents to always be alert in their environment at all times.

Five Shootings:

On Sunday, August 21, at approximately 1:30am, a black male was shot once in the buttocks on the corner of Willoughby Avenue and Marcus Garvey Blvd. The victim reports he was walking into a building when he heard gunshots. He started to run into the building, but once he got inside, discovered he had been hit. Police have no leads, and the investigation is ongoing.

On Friday, August 26, at approximately 3:25 am, a man, 34, was robbed and then shot and killed on the Putnam Avenue between Lewis and Stuyvesant Avenues. A woman who was with the victim at the time reported, that she and the homicide victim were standing outside of their car, when two, black males walked past them, and then turned around, came back and demanded all of their money and property. The woman said, after they handed over their property, the men then demanded the two go inside of the car and retrieve more. The woman says when she turned to get in the car, she heard a gunshot and found her friend lying dead on the sidewalk. The perpetrators then fled on foot. 79th Precinct detectives are working on a couple of possible leads.

On Saturday, August 27, at approximately 12:30pm, a 38-year-old woman reported a shooting incident at her residence on Chauncey Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, the Jackie Robinson Houses. According to the victim, someone rang her doorbell, and when she walked to the door to answer it, someone fired one shot through her door into her refrigerator. The woman says she never saw the perpetrator, and there were no injuries. The investigation is ongoing.

On Saturday, August 27, at approximately 2:00am, A woman who lives on Gates Avenue between Ralph and Patchen, reported shots were fired outside of her home while she asleep. One of the bullets came through her bedroom window and hit the wall. There were no reported injuries. Police say they are surveying cameras on the street during that time to identify the perpetrators and determine what happened. The investigation is ongoing.

On Sunday, August 28, at approximately 5:30pm, a man standing on the corner of Martin Luther King Street and Atlantic Avenue reported a black male in a grey car with another male in the passenger seat pulled up to him and fired shots at him. The man was not hit. After he immediately reported the incident, police were able to catch up with the car and arrested both men. The police have no motives as of yet for the shooting. An investigation is ongoing.

*Please note: All information provided in the crime reports is provided voluntarily by the precincts. Bed-Stuy Patch is not responsible for how frequent or infrequent this information is provided, nor the amount of detail provided in each incident. If you have any questions regarding a specific incident, you may contact the 79th or 81st Precincts. 

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of anyone connected with any of these incidents is asked to call the New York City Police Department's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. All calls are kept confidential. The public can also submit its tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or texting 274637 (crimes) then enter TIP577.