- A mass shooting on a New York City train left 10 people shot Tuesday.
- NYC Mayor Eric Adams doubled down on his call to increase NYPD presence in the subways.
- Advocates argue that the strategy doesn’t get at the heart of the issue.
Following a mass shooting in a Brooklyn subway that left 10 people with gunshot wounds and others injured, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has stated his resolve to double New York Police Department’s presence in the transit system, despite criticism that residents need better resources, not more police.
Adams, a former officer himself, already added more NYPD officers to the subway system prior to the shooting. But as crime continues to rise on city trains, advocates are urging Adams to look for alternative solutions, such as investing in housing and mental health services.
New York City subway crime is up 70%, Insider’s Haven Orecchio-Egresitz previously reported, citing pandemic-related hardships and a neglect of the city’s unhoused neighbors and people suffering from mental illnesses.
Scott Hechinger, a civil rights attorney and founder of the social justice organization Zealous, told Insider that the “tragic” shooting in Sunset Park highlights the ineffectiveness of throwing more police at problems.
He claims the incident underscores “the abject policy failure of investing hundreds of millions of dollars” into additional police officers in the subways. “Unfortunately, this tragedy will undoubtedly be used by police and allies to demand even more.”
The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America told Insider in an emailed statement that “solutions must attack the root of the problem, and be holistic ones,” adding that “police presence neither prevented nor deterred the attack, and failed to prevent the perpetrator from fleeing the scene.”
Police say the suspect in the morning rush-hour attack — which left dozens of transit riders injured — fired at least 33 shots on the train and used a canister to fill the air with smoke prior. The suspect, Frank James, was arrested on Wednesday after a city-wide manhunt.
Law enforcement sources told multiple news outlets that the suspect called the Crime Stoppers on himself, but James had left the location prior to their arrival. Internet users credited 21-year-old Zack Tahhana security camera installer, for spotting the suspect on the street and letting a nearby officer know on Wednesday.
The ordeal left critics all the more skeptical that additional police could address crime in the city and on its public transportation.
Jaslin Kaur, an organizer and city council candidate for New York’s 23rd congressional district, echoed the idea that policing should not be the primary solution. Kaur told Insider that Adams was elected by New Yorkers who believed his promise to curb crime, but, she says, “we have only seen more devastating shootings since his swearing-in.”
And in the hours after the Brooklyn attack, at least 15 more people in the city were shot — three of whom died — and the NYPD has not made any arrests, according to New York Daily News.
“These working-class communities need working-class solutions,” Kaur said. “But we will not get that with a Mayor who proposes several millions of dollars in cuts to the Department of Homeless Services and Department or Health & Hospitals. We cannot be tough on crime again in NYC. We must fund public health and housing to achieve real public safety.”
Adams did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
