Federal crackdown aims to curb gun violence spike in NYC
The top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn announced Wednesday that he would put a new priority on firearms and drug cases, seeking stiffer penalties than are being doled out at the state level.
Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said he was taking action to address a sharp rise in gun violence in New York City. He attributed the uptick to a “permissiveness” that has taken hold amid the coronavirus pandemic and the civil unrest that followed the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
The initiative, which will involve more than a dozen federal prosecutors, is aimed at repairing the “protective fabric of our community,” DuCharme said, and making use of tougher federal sentences for criminals caught carrying illegal guns.