Police responding to reports of shots fired in Harlem overnight were met by a large crowd of nearly 500 people. When officers attempted to disperse the crowd they were met with glass bottles, police officials said Sunday.
NYPD officers arrived at 7th Avenue and 133rd Street around 3:45 a.m. Sunday and found half a dozen .45 caliber shell casings and two fired bullets.
Police say one glass bottle broke a police vehicle's windshield and another broke a passenger side window after attempts were made to break up the large group.
"This is the kind of lawlessness we're starting to see in New York City, and if it's not stopped and not stopped soon, it's only going to get exponentially worse," said Joseph Giacalone, professor of criminal justice at John Jay College. "Are elected leaders haven't been helping much including City Council and especially the mayor."
New York City's largest police union tweeted video of the scene: "This is what a light touch looks like." The union said Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson should be held responsible for "surrendering our city."
On Monday night, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan tweeted that one person believed to be behind the bottle-throwing incident had been arrested, and that more arrests were expected.
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The incident was one of several shootings across New York City. Police say 11 people were shot in less than 12 hours. The department's shooting database logged 59 shooting incidents last week, compared to 26 during the same period last year, according to the NYPD.
Detectives released surveillance video of a suspect Sunday connected to a shooting from the day before. A man and a woman were shot and killed around 12 p.m. in East New York.
The NYPD has identified the suspected gunman as Charles Hernandez.
