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COVID-19 live updates: Louisiana, Florida leading US in cases

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 613,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.1 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 58.1% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC last week, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.

Here’s how the news is developing Monday. All times Eastern:

Aug 02, 2:14 pm

Louisiana respiratory therapist: ‘We see families destroyed’

In Louisiana, which has the nation’s highest case rate per 100,000 residents, COVID-19 hospitalizations are reaching peak levels, with more than 1,700 patients now receiving care.

“We’re seeing people that are way too young to be so sick,” David Wrightson, a respiratory therapist and ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) specialist for the Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport, Louisiana, told ABC News. “We see families destroyed. We see children without one or more parent because of this virus. We see a new mom who will never go home to see her newborn, will never see her child grow up.”

He went on, “When you see someone that’s 30 years old with no medical problems at all, nobody knew anything was wrong, and we have this person literally on death’s doorstep, doing everything in our power to turn them around and return them to their family. The vaccine is something worth getting.”

More people need to see and understand the reality of this disease, he said.

“I wish I could show them a few steps in our day to see what we see and to see what we have to do, and to go home at night and, and have nightmares about those things, and sometimes cry yourself to sleep,” he said.

-ABC News’ Erica Baumgart and Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 02, 1:48 pm

Denver mandates vaccinations for workers in high-risk settings

Denver is mandating vaccinations for city employees and those in high-risk jobs like first responders, correctional workers and school personnel. The mandate also applies to staff at long-term care facilities, shelters and hospitals.

After considerable deliberation & consultation w/ public health experts, including @DDPHE‘s exec. director, I am approving a public health order mandating that all @CityofDenver employees and private-sector workers in high-risk settings, be fully vaccinated against COVID by 9/30. pic.twitter.com/VS73Z7HPvR

— Michael B. Hancock (@MayorHancock) August 2, 2021

Aug 02, 12:46 pm

70% of adults in US have now had at least 1 vaccine dose

Seventy percent of adults in the U.S. have now had at least one vaccine dose, the White House announced Monday, nearly one month after President Joe Biden hoped to reach the milestone.

Biden said in May, “Our goal by July 4th is to have 70% of adult Americans with at least one shot and 160 million Americans fully vaccinated.” When that date finally rolled out, the White House touted that 70% of Americans ages 27 and up met the goal, but low vaccination rates among young people kept the country from fully meeting the target.

Biden is scheduled to give remarks on vaccination progress on Tuesday.

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky

Aug 02, 11:50 am

Nearly 60% of counties reporting high community transmission

In the U.S., 59.72% of counties are reporting high community transmission. Five weeks ago, only 8% of counties were reporting high transmission, according to federal data.

Louisiana now has the highest case rate in the country with more than 600 new cases per 100,000 residents, according to federal data. Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi follow behind with 500, 400 and 300 new cases per 100,000 residents respectively.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 02, 10:59 am

At least 1 patient checked in every hour at Louisiana hospital

At least one COVID-19 patient was checked in every hour Monday morning at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hospital officials told ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ.

The hospital said Monday it has 301 unvaccinated COVID-19 patients and 52 vaccinated COVID-19 patients.

Our Lady of the Lake Hospital is among 45 hospitals in the state requesting extra staff, reported WBRZ.

Louisiana is recording a “remarkable increase in the number of newly vaccinated people,” White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar tweeted Monday.

Aug 02, 10:42 am

Masks strongly recommended indoors for the vaccinated, NYC mayor says

Masks are now strongly recommended in public, indoor settings in New York City, even for those who are vaccinated, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

The mayor also announced that all new city hires must be vaccinated.

De Blasio noted that this week is the last week to get all children ages 12 and above fully vaccinated by the first week of school.

Aug 02, 10:09 am

New vaccine policy for NY transit workers

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports, have adopted the same policy the state has for its public sector employees in requiring either a vaccine or a weekly proof of a negative test. Subway, airport and bus and commuter rail workers must be vaccinated starting Labor Day or face a weekly test, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

The number of COVID-19 cases in New York state has increased four-fold in the last month while hospitalizations have doubled.

Cuomo last week mandated vaccines for public-facing workers in state-run hospitals. If cases continue to rise, Cuomo said he would consider mandatory vaccines for teachers and nursing home employees.

Cuomo also said he is encouraging restaurants, bars and other business owners to adopt a vaccine-only policy.

-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky

Aug 02, 9:44 am
Tokyo COVID-19 cases up 200% in 1 week

There are 2,195 new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, a 206.9% increase since last Monday, according to the Tokyo Media Center.

At the Olympics, there are 281 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of 17 cases in the last 24 hours, according to Tokyo 2020 organizers. None of these cases are athletes; they are all contractors, personnel or media.

Aug 02, 8:56 am
At least 1 patient checked in every hour at Louisiana hospital

At least one COVID-19 patient was checked in every hour Monday morning at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hospital officials told ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ.

Our Lady of the Lake Hospital is among 45 hospitals in the state requesting extra staff, reported WBRZ.

Aug 02, 8:19 am
TSA screens highest number of people since start of pandemic

The Transportation Security Administration screened 2,238,462 people at U.S. airports on Sunday, the highest number since the start of the pandemic, the agency said. The continued spread of the highly contagious delta variant has not stopped travelers this summer and the TSA put out a tweet reminding fliers to mask up and socially distance.

US passes major vaccine milestone: 70% of adults now have at least 1 shot, White House says

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(New York) — Boosted by a recent uptake in vaccine administrations, the U.S. crossed a long-awaited milestone Monday in its race to vaccinate the country against the novel coronavirus.

Seventy percent of U.S. adults ages 18 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, Cyrus Shahpar, the White House’s COVID-19 data director, posted in a tweet.

This is nearly a month after the country missed President Joe Biden’s July 4 deadline to meet that threshold.

Although the majority of the country’s adults have one shot, there is a major discrepancy among states, according to the CDC.

Health officials have been urging eligible residents to get their shots, which are free and shown to prevent hospitalization and death from the virus, as soon as possible as the more contagious variants like delta spread.

As of Monday, 22 states and the District of Columbia have 70% of their adult population with one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of these states are located in the Northeast with Vermont leading the nation with over 86% of its adult residents receiving one shot, according to the health data.

A dozen states, almost all located in the South, haven’t cracked the 60% mark for their adult residents with one shot, CDC data showed. Mississippi has the lowest percentage of adults with one shot, at 50%, according to the data.

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the country have been on the rise, particularly in locations with low vaccination numbers, health officials said.

Officials in several states, including Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri and Arkansas, are reporting that the majority of their hospitalized patients are unvaccinated people.

The U.S. began vaccinating residents in December, starting with health care workers and the elderly. By mid-April, all residents above 18 were eligible and a month later, the Pfizer vaccine was approved for Americans over the age of 12.

Two of the three approved vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, require two doses and use mRNA technology to protect against the virus. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose.

The seven-day average of new daily first shots administered peaked at 3.4 million on April 11 but it has declined to low of 217,884 on July 7, the CDC reported. Several states that had lagging vaccination numbers, however, saw a small jump in shots administered during the final weeks of July.

The seven-day average of first doses administered grew to 367,351 on July 27, the CDC data showed.

On Sunday, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar revealed that over 517,000 people received their first shot.

Anyone who needs help scheduling a free vaccine appointment can log onto vaccines.gov.

US to offer refugee status to Afghans at risk because of American ties amid growing Taliban threat

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration is expanding the group of Afghans who could be granted refugee status and flee to the United States to escape the growing threat of the Taliban across Afghanistan, the State Department announced Monday.

The militant group is increasingly gaining control of districts across the country, as the war-torn country teeters dangerously towards collapse into all-out civil war.

But while President Joe Biden has committed to helping Afghans who helped the U.S. military and diplomatic mission in the country for the last 20 years, the new policy will apply only to Afghans who have left the country and will take at least over a year for their cases to be processed, according to senior State Department officials — even as the risk to these Afghans is urgent.

The Biden administration has launched relocation flights for thousands of Afghans who worked as interpreters, guides, and other contractors and applied for Special Immigrant Visas – some 20,000 applicants in total, according to a State Department spokesperson, although only a fraction of them will be evacuated by the U.S.

For interpreters and other contractors who did not meet the required two years of service for a Special Immigrant Visa, the State Department will now allow them to apply for refugee status instead. They’re also expanding the pool of potential refugees to any Afghan who worked for a U.S.-based media outlet, for a U.S. government-funded program, or for a U.S. government-supported project.

After 20 years of humanitarian development across the country, that’s a wide category of Afghans, along with their eligible family members. Senior State Department officials declined to provide an estimate, but said it was likely in the tens of thousands in total.

The administration has been under pressure, especially from Republican and Democrat lawmakers and U.S. veterans’ groups, to do more to help Afghans who worked with or for the U.S. during two decades of war and development – and who therefore may be at greater risk of retaliatory attacks by the Taliban.

While the militant group’s political leaders have said Afghans will not be harmed, the last year has seen a string of high-profile assassinations against journalists, women’s rights activists, minority leaders, and military and police chiefs. At least 300 interpreters have been killed by Taliban fighters since 2014, according to the advocacy group No One Left Behind.

“The U.S. objective remains a peaceful, secure Afghanistan. However, in light of increased levels of Taliban violence, the U.S. government is working to provide certain Afghans, including those who worked with the United States, the opportunity for refugee resettlement to the United States,” the State Department said in a statement.

But the refugee resettlement process takes several months, if not years, including intensive security vetting, and the process will require Afghan applicants to leave the country, according to senior State Department officials – something that many cannot afford, cannot risk, or cannot manage.

“This program is meant to expand the aperture of people who have an opportunity to be resettled in the United States beyond the SIVs. It is our attempt to try to offer an option to people,” said a senior State Department official.

The State Department has said it will evacuate nearly 5,000 of those “SIV’s,” or Special Immigrant Visa applicants, along with their eligible family members like spouses and children.

Some 750 and their dependents – 2,500 in total – who have been granted approval by the U.S. embassy in Kabul and cleared security vetting will be moved to Fort Lee, a U.S. Army base in central Virginia. The first of them arrived last Friday, with a second flight with 200 more arriving early Monday and now at Ft. Lee, according to a U.S. official.

In addition, 4,000 applicants who have been approved by the embassy, but are awaiting security clearances, will be moved to safe third countries. Along with their family members, the group could total approximately 20,000, and diplomatic discussions on where to house them all as they wait months for their applications to be processed remain underway with several countries, including Kuwait, Qatar, and Kazakhstan, according to U.S. officials.

But a senior State Department official said the administration does not plan to relocate any of the Afghans who now qualify for refugee status under this new designation, known as Priority 2, or P2. Instead, their employer will open a case with the embassy in Kabul, and once the U.S. government confirms it is ready to begin processing their case, they must find their own way to a third country and declare themselves a refugee.

“At this point in time, unfortunately, we do not anticipate relocating them, but we will continue to examine all the options to protect those who have served with or for us, and we will review the situation on the ground, and our planning will continue to evolve,” said the senior official.

Once outside of Afghanistan, it could take at least 12 to 14 months for their case to be adjudicated, per the senior official.

As the new designations could lead to thousands of Afghans fleeing the country and seeking refugee status, a second senior official said the U.S. government has had conversations with some of Afghanistan’s neighbors, like Pakistan, about preparing for refugee flows and keeping their borders open to refugees.

ABC News’s Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

WATCH: Israel begins administering third COVID-19 boosters to vulnerable citizens

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Israel is now the first in the world to give a third booster COVID-19 vaccine shot to those over 60 and other vulnerable people as cases rise.

The U.K. expected to roll out boosters next month.

Watch the full report from ABC’s Good Morning America:

COVID-19 live updates: TSA sees highest number of travelers since start of pandemic amid delta variant spread

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

Just 58.1% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing Monday. All times Eastern:

Aug 02, 9:44 am
Tokyo COVID-19 cases up 200% in 1 week

There are 2,195 new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, a 206.9% increase since last Monday, according to the Tokyo Media Center.

Aug 02, 8:56 am
At least 1 patient checked in every hour at Louisiana hospital

At least one COVID-19 patient was checked in every hour Monday morning at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hospital officials told ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ.

Our Lady of the Lake Hospital is among 45 hospitals in the state requesting extra staff, reported WBRZ.

Aug 02, 8:19 am
TSA screens highest number of people since start of pandemic

Anti-gun violence group pledges $25 million to stop shootings

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization is stepping up efforts to address the scourge of recent shootings across the country as part of a new initiative unveiled exclusively by ABC News on Monday.

Everytown for Gun Safety is delivering millions of dollars in grants and providing support to local organizations that aim to reduce gun crimes by tapping into communities most impacted by firearms. The new initiative, known as the Everytown Community Safety Fund, is dedicating $25 million over five years to gun violence prevention programs. The first million is set to be distributed across organizations next month.

“It’s an urgent moment,” said Michael-Sean Spence, Everytown’s director of community safety initiatives who is leading the rollout of the new initiative. “We’re in the middle of a public health crisis — one that has been brewing for a number of years and has really taken off over the last year, year and a half.”

The rate of homicides with a firearm is nearly 25 times higher in the U.S. compared to similar economically developed countries, according to a 2015 study published in the journal of Preventive Medicine. More recently, 2020 marked the highest number of firearm deaths in at least 20 years, according to Britannica, the group behind the famed encyclopedia, and the Gun Violence Archive.

On a recent week in July, a joint analysis by GVA and ABC News found that 2.4 people were killed and 5.5 people were wounded every hour.

“The trends we’re seeing today don’t approach the ’90s levels of gun homicides that we fortunately were able to reverse,” Spence told ABC News. “But they are some of the highest numbers we have seen since the early 2000s, and we’ve also seen a prolonged, persistent spike.”

The funds from Everytown will support 100 local intervention programs, building on its original list of 60 programs funded by the organization over the past two years.

“There are a number of factors that drive gun violence. One is the lack of opportunity,” Spence said. “Many of these programs, once they’ve identified individuals, can put them into workforce development programs and connect them with other opportunities to change their life.”

One of the groups set to receive funding is No More Red Dots, which runs a handful of gun violence prevention programs in Louisville, Kentucky. The organization maintains a database of high-risk individuals in the area and works to prevent them from engaging in future shootings.

Led by Dr. Eddie Woods, who has more than 20 years of experience in community safety, No More Red Dots has deep roots in Louisville. Some of the organization’s programs include an artist’s workshop and basketball league that are designed to build the skills and interests of at-risk youth and provide them with mentorship opportunities.

“We’ve been around forever, so a lot of the young people’s parents, and maybe in some cases grandparents, were in our group sessions back in the day,” Woods told ABC News. “So we kind of got a feel for the culture in some families — the personalities of some families.”

The hyper-local formula appears to be moving the community in a positive direction. Thousands of kids have gone through the program, Woods said, and more than 115 have gone from engaging in dangerous activity in the streets to obtaining a college education.

Five shot, panic ensues in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW ORLEANS) — A barrage of gunfire erupted in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter early Sunday leaving at least five people wounded and a panicked crowd running for cover.The shooting broke out about 3 a.m. on Bourbon Street at Orleans Avenue, about two blocks from Jackson Square and around the corner from the famed Preservation Hall, according to police.

The New Orleans Police Department said one person was detained and was being questioned about the shooting, but released no further details.

“The investigation remains active and ongoing,” police said in a statement on Twitter.

An EarthCam video camera mounted on Cat’s Meow Karaoke Bar, which normally provides a live feed of the party scene on Bourbon Street, captured the sound of multiple gunshots followed by chaos with panicked people running for cover in all directions. Several people narrowly avoided being hit by cars crossing Bourbon Street.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Superintendent Shaun Ferguson of the New Orleans Police Department both went to the scene of the shooting but did not make any public comments.

Around 4:40 a.m. Sunday, New Orleans police responded to another shooting scene in the adjacent Iberville neighborhood just northeast of the French Quarter in which at least four people were shot, including a juvenile who was killed, authorities said. No other information was available on the Iberville incident.

Like other major cities across the country, New Orleans has seen a surge in shootings and homicides in the first seven months of 2021.

New Orleans has recorded more than 250 shootings and more than 100 homicides already this year. In all of 2020, New Orleans police investigated 195 homicides, a 63% increase from 2019.

In April, Cantrell announced the city was creating the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to focus on ways to intervene and mediate conflicts before they result in shootings. The program also focuses on providing jobs and job training programs for young people in the city.

“Nothing stops a bullet like a job,” Cantrell said at the time.

The weekend gun violence in New Orleans came as the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office in Colfax, about 200 miles north of New Orleans, continue to investigate a shooting that occurred on Friday at the Louisiana Mud Fest music festival. Chris Ardon, a Zydeco accordionist and singer, was shot and wounded on stage as his group was performing, according to ABC affiliate station WGNO-TV in New Orleans.

Ardon and a 14-year-old child in the crowd suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

In the aftermath of the shooting, thousands of people attending the music festival immediately began diving for cover and running for the exits, detectives told WGNO.

Bipartisan negotiators unveil 2,702-page infrastructure bill

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — After days of deliberation, senators who negotiated a bipartisan infrastructure package unveiled the legislative text of the massive proposal Sunday night.

The 2,702-page bill was released after weeks of deliberation among a bipartisan group of 10 senators and members of the administration.

The bill, worth $550 billion in new spending, will address core infrastructure needs. It includes $110 billion in new funds for roads and bridges, $66 billion for rail, $7.5 billion to build out electric vehicle charging stations, $17 billion for ports, $25 billion for airports, $55 billion for clean drinking water, a $65 billion investment in high-speed internet and more.

The Senate will begin deliberation on amendments as it heads into the work week. Members of both parties have said they support a robust amendment process that will give lawmakers the chance to try to modify the bill.

There’s not yet an agreement on how many amendments will be considered, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made clear late Sunday night that he wants to see the Senate act swiftly to pass the legislation.

“Given how bipartisan the bill is and how much work has already been put in to get the details right, I believe the Senate can quickly process relevant amendments to pass this bill in a matter of days,” Schumer said.

Members of the bipartisan group heralded the agreement as a triumph of bipartisanship.

In a politically contentious environment with an evenly divided Senate, the bipartisan group said they felt it was important to demonstrate that across-the-aisle work can yield results.

“This process of starting from the center out has worked,” Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican and the chief Republican negotiator in the bipartisan group, said on the Senate floor Sunday evening.

“I am delighted to demonstrate to the American people that we can work across the aisle in a bipartisan way to achieve real results that matter to the people of this country,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, added.

It is not yet clear how many Republicans will ultimately vote to pass the legislation after amendments are considered, but the bill enjoyed broad bipartisan support in a key procedural test vote last week. Seventeen Republicans — including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — voted with all of the Democrats to advance the legislation.

The bipartisan agreement is just one part of the two-pronged approach Democrats are taking to try to pass President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan into law.

Schumer has long stated that after the bipartisan bill is passed Democrats will work on moving a separate $3.5 trillion budget bill using a process called reconciliation, which allows them to bypass the usual 60-vote threshold necessary to pass legislation in the Senate.

That second, larger package is expected to include funding for things like pre-K, housing, health care and other items that Republicans struck from the bipartisan plan in order to achieve a more narrowly tailored infrastructure proposal.

To pass the budget bill, Schumer will need the support of every Democrat serving in the Senate. It’s not yet clear he’ll have it.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., the chief Democratic negotiator on the bipartisan infrastructure deal, released a statement last week which said she does not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion.

Several members of the Senate Budget Committee, which will handle that larger bill, say that for now, they’re focused on passing the bipartisan bill and on opening discussions about their package.

Florida HBCU doles out $16 million to pay off student debt

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Students at a historically Black college received a huge parting gift from their school during commencement ceremonies Saturday.

Larry Robinson, the president of Florida A&M University, announced the school spent over $16 million to cover fees, tuition and unpaid student account balances during the 2020-2021 school year.

“This is an indication of our commitment to student success and our hope that your time on the ‘Hill’ has been transformative as you take on the challenges of the day, go out and make a difference,” he told the graduates.

The university was able to use money from the federal Cares Act, which provides COVID-19 relief to organizations, to pay for the students’ costs.

FAMU Vice President for Student Affairs William E. Hudson, Jr told students the school wanted to give them some assistance given the struggles caused by the pandemic.

“Clearing student account balances from the previous school year was a way of practicing our motto of “Excellence with Caring” by supporting students and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement.

Florida A&M University is the latest HBCU to pay off their students’ debts and costs with the federal relief money.

Other schools that have announced similar plans include Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina, South Carolina State University and Spelman College.

Gun-wielding masked men shoot 10 in New York City attack, speed off on mopeds

August 2, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A pair of masked men unleashed a fusillade of gunfire on a crowded street in a New York City neighborhood Saturday night, wounding 10 people before getting on mopeds and speeding away, police said.

New York Police Department investigators said the episode appeared to be tied to gang violence, but that seven of the shooting victims were innocent bystanders, including a 72-year-old man.

“This was, as I can most accurately describe it, a brazen, coordinated attack,” NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a news conference on Sunday.

No arrests have been made.

The shooting occurred about 10:38 p.m. outside a barbershop and a restaurant in the city’s Queens borough.

The NYPD released a chilling surveillance video showing two men wearing masks and hooded sweatshirts walking east on 37th Avenue near 97th Street in Corona, Queens, both with their arms extended and firing handguns.

The video shows the pair of gunmen being trailed on the sidewalk by two other masked men, also wearing hooded sweatshirts, driving mopeds. Following the shooting, the gunmen calmly climbed onto the back of the mopeds and sped away.

At least 37 bullet shell casings were recovered, but Essig said police were combing the crime scene for evidence and suspect more shots were fired.

He said three of the people shot are members of the Trinitarios street gang and are believed to have been the intended targets of the shooting.

Essig said the shooting followed “reoccurring themes” police have recently noticed as the city has seen an alarming surge in gun violence.

“That’s gang members, that’s guns, multiple guns on the scene, scooters being used, masks and, lastly, unintended targets getting hit,” Essig said. “This is unacceptable in our streets in New York City, and it has to stop.”

He said the seven innocent bystanders left with non-life-threatening wounds ranged from age 19 to 72 and included two women.

He said the gunmen appeared initially to open fire on a group of people standing in front of a barbershop, but other people wounded were attending a party at a restaurant a few doors away.

NYPD Chief of Patrol Juanita Holmes pleaded with the public to help police catch the gunmen and their getaway drivers.

“We need the community’s help on this one,” Holmes said.

She asked people to closely review the security video of the shooting that showed both gunmen wearing dark masks and dark hooded sweatshirts. One gunman was wearing white pants and Nike sneakers, while the other was wearing dark pants and dark sneakers.

One of the moped drivers was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and white pants, while the other driver had on what appeared to be a gray sweatshirt with a white hood and an American flag on the chest emblazoned with the letters “USA.”

“They know the area. That’s why they were wearing masks,” Holmes said. “They know the area, they come over here. Someone’s going to see that video, they’re going to see those still photos, they’re going to say, ‘Oh, I know that clothing … I know so-and-so walks that way.’ And that is why we are really, really appealing to the public. Our biggest asset is the public when it comes to solving crimes like this.”

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