(NewsNation) — Large cities across the nation have seen yet again another violent weekend. America is seeing spikes in violent crimes. A NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll released Monday revealed that 14.66% of voters believe crime is becoming one of the bigger issues in the country.
Over the weekend, a 48-year-old man was killed on board a New York City subway train in a random, unprovoked attack. An intense manhunt is ongoing for the shooter, with police considering him to be very much armed and dangerous.
New York City police said it appears the gunman who shot and killed the man at the Canal Street Station Sunday morning picked his victim randomly.
“According to witnesses, the suspect was walking back and forth in the same train car and without provocation, pulled out a gun and fired it at the victim.”
The gunman ran from the station before police arrived.
The victim, identified as Daniel Henriques, later died at the hospital and is the fourth person killed in a city subway system so far this year.
The New York City Police Department has cast a very wide net to try and stop the amount of violence happening in the city subway system.
In January, Michelle Go was pushed in front of an oncoming train as it pulled into a Times Square station.
In April, police said Frank James opened fire on a train in Brooklyn, hitting 10 people. There were no casualties.
“It’s a full-blown crisis that’s happening in our subway system right now,” a New York citizen said.
Chicago also had a very violent weekend, with 27 people shot between Friday and Sunday — one victim died.
In Memphis, three people were killed and one injured in four separate shootings across the city.
“As they say, bullet knows no name,” another citizen said.
The violence is increasing as we approach Memorial Day weekend: the unofficial start of summer.
Along with the summer temperatures, crime also heats up.
Police departments around the country will be adding extra patrols to known areas of concern to help keep the peace.
Nationwide violent crime is up. A report from the CDC says firearm killings jumped 35% between 2019 and 2020. Those numbers are still trending unusually high.
In New York City, the mayor says he’s very concerned about this uptick in crime going into the summer and for good reason. Violent crime is up overall by more than 40% in New York City.
One way the mayor is trying to get at this issue of gun violence is now using officers in plain clothes to patrol in those areas with high crime.