#Dermot Shea: Gun busts were ‘shot in the arm’ in fight to curb shootings

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn who charged 10 ex-cons with gun possession last week gave law-enforcement a “shot in the arm” in the fight to curtail shootings in the city, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Tuesday.

Shea, speaking on NY1, credited federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York with “stepping in” and making the busts in the borough, where gun violence has swelled higher than any other place in New York.

“When you see the Eastern District, stepping in last week and taking 10 violent people off the streets, that’s a big shot in the arm for us telling gang members that there is consequences,” Shea told host Pat Kiernan.

He added that close to half of the recent shootings in the city have happened in Brooklyn — and police are investigating shootings in other boroughs that have a connection to Brooklyn. The borough saw 97 shootings in the 30 days ending Aug. 10, while just 102 happened in the four other boroughs.

“When you dig a little deeper and peel the onion back [we’re] seeing Brooklyn individuals and perpetrators with active gun cases sometimes from Brooklyn committing violence in other parts of the city,” Shea said.

“So the focus is there on the part of the NYPD. We got to continue to sharpen it with our partners with prosecutors with other agencies with community groups,” he added.

Last week, Acting US Attorney Seth DuCharme announced 10 gun-packing ex-cons were hit with federal firearm charges in Brooklyn in just seven days.

Of the 10 alleged criminals, nine were charged for being a felon in possession of a firearm on Aug. 6, according to a statement from DuCharme.

Another man was federally charged with three local shootings because he allegedly used bullets brought in from out of state.