QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — Multiple shootings in Queens have grabbed headlines in recent days and weeks.
A 16-year-old girl died in May after she was caught in the crossfire of a shooting at a playground in St. Albans.
Last week, a 65-year-old man shot and killed an alleged robber in Kew Gardens and ended up being charged with more than two dozen counts of criminal possession of a weapon after police searched his house and found dozens of illegal weapons and ammunition.
Just over the weekend, a shooting inside a popular restaurant in Astoria left a customer injured and customers rattled.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards discussed what’s being done to address public safety and reduce the number of shootings in the borough.
“Dealing with crime, you have to deal with it holistically, ensuring that more job creation is happening, affordable housing is being built across the borough,” Richards said. “This pandemic, when you think about mental health and how it’s impacted our borough and the city, we now have offered a $2 million free mental health initiative out of our office. We have to look at crime holistically. But more importantly, these guns are not being built out of Southeast Queens. They are coming in from down south.”
