First there was the shooting in front of a grocery store in Greenville. That was Thursday. Then came a shooting in Bergen-Lafayette on Friday. Early this morning came another shooting in Bergen-Lafayette. Together, the shootings mark an upsurge in local gun violence.
According to RLS Media, last night’s shooting occurred near a Walgreens on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Two people were hit by bullets apparently fired from a car that fled down Communipaw Avenue towards Newark.
The recent spike in gun violence began on Thursday night when a man was shot in the shoulder and arm in the vicinity of Neptune and Ocean avenues.
Then on Friday, an individual was shot in the right shoulder in the area of Jewett Avenue and Monticello Avenue.
According to sources, some of the violence is attributable to gang activity. Indeed, the Thursday shooting was reportedly followed by retaliatory gunshots blocks away.
However, the extent and causes of crime generally, and shootings in particular, in Jersey City is difficult to assess. Without explanation, the Fulop administration stopped publishing comprehensive monthly CompStat crime data in June of 2019.
While Jersey City publishes an informal tally of “shooting incidents,” “shooting victims” and homicides, it does not, like New York City or Newark, provide up-to-date data on major crime categories collected by the F.B.I. such as robbery, larceny, burglary, aggravated assault, rape and auto theft.
The administration did not respond to a request for comment.