The COVID-19 pandemic that rocked New York City in 2020 came with a different lethal side effect: an incredible rise in gun violence across the city.
After dealing with hundreds of shootings in the months that followed, the city is finally on track to return to a pre-pandemic level of violence, Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated at his Oct. 6 press conference. He touted the efforts of both the NYPD in making hundreds of gun arrests as well as groups like the God Squad, a group of faith-centered violence interrupters in Brooklyn, appear at his press conference to describe what’s happening on the ground.
