More police for New York's Times Square in wake of tourist shooting

NEW YORK • Dozens of additional police officers, some working undercover, will be dispatched to Times Square in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, a day after a tourist was struck by a stray bullet in broad daylight.

The shooting, the second in the area in two months, came amid a rise in gun violence in the city that began during the coronavirus pandemic and has not subsided. It has led to chaos in the iconic tourist destination at a time when the city is seeking to lure back visitors.

In May, stray bullets fired during a dispute struck three bystanders, including a four-year-old.

At a news conference on Monday, Mr de Blasio said: "The bottom line is we are going to flood the zone in Times Square with additional officers to make sure this situation is resolved once and for all.

"We have more and more activity out there, more and more jobs coming back, more and more tourists coming back. They have to be safe and they have to feel safe."

The victim, Mr Samuel Poulin, 21, is a US Marine and recent graduate of the Citadel military college in South Carolina, according to a statement released by the college. He was shot once in the back and transported to hospital in stable condition, the police said.

Nearly 800 people have been shot in the city through June 20, according to data from the New York Police Department - the highest number over the same period since 2002.

The rise in gun violence this year has cast a shadow on the city's reopening after 15 months of lockdown. New York's year-long state of emergency was finally lifted last week, and Times Square is once again a bustling cacophony; last Saturday night, a full-length Broadway show was put on for a paying audience for the first time in more than 400 days.

In surveillance video of Sunday's incident, three men can be seen arguing near a corner in Times Square when a fourth man approaches and opens fire, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. People across the block scattered.

On Monday afternoon, Times Square was humming with activity, and tourists seemed to take news of the shooting in stride. Many said they had looked into safety and crime statistics before their visit, and that the episode had not surprised them.

"It was a little unsettling, but I feel like it's typical for New York right now," said Ms Destini Moore, who was visiting the city from New Jersey to celebrate her 21st birthday with friends.

And Ms Michelle West, who was visiting from Wisconsin, said: "It makes you feel a little more cautious, but I think being tourists, we're very aware of that anyway."

NYTIMES