NYC gun violence: At least 51 shootings over holiday weekend

Surge in NYC gun violence

At least 51 people were shot across New York City during the July 4 holiday weekend.

NEW YORK - The scourge of gun violence did not take the holiday weekend off. At least 51 people were shot in New York City between Friday and Monday, police say. Seven people died.

One of the dead was John Edwards, 62, who lived less than half a mile from where he was shot on Prospect Avenue in the Belmont section of the Bronx Monday night.

Edwards was a beloved friend to many who would barbecue and wash cars. "He made sure I was safe," his friend Rachel Sanchez said.

The NYPD is still looking for the people responsible for his killing.

City Hall aide robbed in Brooklyn

An aide to Mayor Eric Adams was robbed at gunpoint in Downtown Brooklyn on Tuesday morning.

Despite the bloody holiday weekend, Mayor Eric Adams points to progress. Shootings and homicides have trended downward, and gun arrests are at a 30-year high, the mayor said.

Not even the mayor’s office has been immune to gun crime. Chris Baugh, a mayoral aide, was robbed at gunpoint near the Brooklyn Navy Yard yesterday as he did advance work.

In a statement, the mayor’s press secretary said: "Chris works hard for the city every day, and he deserves to be safe while conducting his job, just like every other New Yorker."