Mayor de Blasio boasts of 'overwhelmingly peaceful weekend' despite spate of NYC shootings

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) assured residents Tuesday that the Big Apple enjoyed an "overwhelmingly peaceful" Labor Day weekend — despite the fact that a 6-year-old was shot along with nearly two dozen other people over the three-day span.

The far-left mayor is receiving pushback over his claim, given the fact that the city has been experiencing a sharp increase in crime after he cut $1 billion from the police department.

What are the details?

New York City saw horrific shooting incidents over the weekend, including one that occurred Monday at a Caribbean holiday street celebration in Brooklyn where a 6-year-old little boy, his mother, and three others were among the victims.

In reaction to that incident, de Blasio told reporters on Tuesday, "Thank God none have life-threatening injuries. Except for that incident, overwhelmingly we had a peaceful weekend in central Brooklyn and it really is because of the hard work of everyone."

Also on Monday, a man named Michael Scully, 62, was fatally shot while walking his dogs in Bay Ridge, according to The Daily Mail, who reported that "It's unclear who attacked him or what the motive was."

The outlet added, "Scully has been described as friends as a peaceful man."

De Blasio's description of the weekend drew scrutiny from the media. According to the New York Post, when "later pressed on characterizing the long weekend as 'peaceful,' [de Blasio] doubled down. 'I was talking about central Brooklyn,' he snapped at a reporter."

The mayor added, ""I think the entire nature of the NYPD is to think proactively and strategically and that's what we're seeing. Everything I'm seeing suggests more and more targeted activity by police, more and more police being moved where the need is greatest. The number of gun arrests now at the same level it was last year and in fact, it's been growing."

It's true that gun arrests hit a 25-year high of 160 in New York City last week, but The Post noted that according to its count "gun arrests are actually down 20 percent through late August, despite historically hovering around 30 to 33 percent."

The New York Daily News reported:

From Friday through Monday, the city suffered 23 total shootings, according to the NYPD. That compares to an average of 19 shootings on Labor Day weekend, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said Tuesday on 1010 Wins. From Jan. 1 to Aug. 30, shootings went up 87% compared to the same time frame last year, according to NYPD stats.

What did the mayor say?

Mayor de Blasio did not mention that he controversially pulled $1 billion from the NYPD earlier this year at the urging of activists, but blamed a "perfect storm" of circumstances on the uptick in crime.

"We had a long period of time where a huge percentage of the NYPD was out sick, we had the extraordinary additional burden placed on the NYPD by the coronavirus. I mean, come on," he told reporters. "When I say perfect storm, I don't use the phrase lightly."

He added, "It's been a health care crisis, an employment crisis, schools shut down. The very fabric of our society just torn apart by this horrible disease. It's not surprising that's there some comeback that's needed."