NYC Shootings: 17 Shot On Fourth Of July, Says NYPD

Wednesday's Fourth of July celebrations in New York City were marred by a streak of violence, with NYPD officials confirming that 12 people were shot Wednesday between 5PM and 12AM.

The New York Post reports one victim, a 33-year old man in the Flatlands neighborhood of Brooklyn, died from a fatal shooting to his head. Two unrelated shootouts within 15 minutes of each other also injured five.

Also on Wednesday, an MTA police officer was stabbed in the eye by an unprovoked, deranged man wielding a knife at a Long Island Railroad station in Queens. The officer has since undergone over four hours of surgery and has been taken out of intensive care.

When the day was done, a total of 17 people were shot in New York this July Fourth.

Earlier, The Post reported the number of people shot last week rose a staggering 46 percent, with 60 people shot. (The Post's anonymous NYPD sources curiously attribute the spike in shootings to a "recent slowdown" in stop-and-frisks, even though the most recent statistics find the NYPD stopping-and-frisking New Yorkers at a record pace.)

The Fourth of July shootings mirror 2011's violent Labor Day weekend during which 67 people were shot within three days and one bloody shootout left two cops injured and two people dead.

Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly have repeatedly called on Washington to enact stricter gun laws. It was reported in April that the National Rifle Association donates more money to New York politicians than any other state, specifically to prevent the implementation of microstamping, a technology that marks a unique code onto gun shells when fired.

Correction: A previous version of the headline to this article read "12 Shot On Fourth Of July." There were 17 people shot on the Fourth of July. 12 people were shot between 5PM and 12AM Wednesday.