For an entire weekend, there were no shootings in New York City — a report the New York Police Department has been waiting more than two decades to issue.
For the first time in 25 years, the people of New York City “went Friday, Saturday Sunday without any shootings and homicides,” NYPD chief James O’Neill told reporters Monday, according to the Agence France-Presse.
“That’s the first time in decades,” he said, “and that’s something, not just the NYPD, but all New Yorkers can be proud of.”
This past weekend #NYC had no shootings, a milestone we haven't reached in over a decade. My thanks to every member of the #NYPD for working hard to protect this city and to every member of the public who has helped us make this city so safe.
— NYPD Chief of Patrol (@NYPDChiefPatrol) October 15, 2018
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), speaking during a graduation ceremony for the NYPD, credited the police force’s training improvements for the record-breaking weekend. He described the phenomenon as “amazing.”
“You know, when you think about the history we came from and the challenges that had to be overcome by this NYPD, it’s absolutely extraordinary,” he said, WPIX-TV reported. “But I want to emphasize, a city of 8.6 million people — not a single shooting in three days.”
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The last weekend New York City went without any shootings was in 1993, according to police records cited by the New York Daily News.
As of Oct. 7, the most recent day for which comprehensive data is available, there have been 600 shootings across the five boroughs of New York City in 2018 — a 2 percent drop from this same time in 2017.