One dead, 12 shot in New York City on Monday

Both de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea have asked the state to allow courts to open to handle the influx of criminal cases, primarily shootings and gun crimes. This according to Fox News.

On Monday, a man in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighbourhood was shot at about 6 p.m., while in the Laurelton neighbourhood of Queens, there was another shooting.

A man was shot in a playground in the Cypress Hill neighbourhood of Brooklyn. He was there visiting a memorial for two others who were shot at the same location. The man was 22, and the shooting took place around 10:30 pm.

The memorial was for two teens who were shot and killed on Sunday while playing basketball in the playground. Both teens, Antonio Villa, 18, and Kleimer Mendez, 16, were shot in the head, according to officers. Both teens were from Brooklyn.

De Blasio tweeted about the killings on Sunday, saying "This is heartbreaking. His life was just beginning. Sending my thoughts and prayers to the families of these boys. No parent should ever have to bury a child."

Also on Sunday, Flatbush, Brooklyn, saw a man shot in the face and chest. He was 32 and later died from these injuries.

In light of all this crime, de Blasio has called for the courts to reopen, yet he still calls for defunding the police, who up until this shocking increase were doing a good job of minimizing gun violence and homicides in the city.

There has been a steady increase in crime in New York City, which used to be ranked among the safest cities in the US. De Blasio has garnered a reputation for refusing to take responsibility for the uptick in violence across New York City.

Earlier this month, he blamed the onslaught of violence on the coronavirus, saying "this [violence] is directly related to coronavirus," adding that "this is a very serious situation... As we're getting into warmer and warmer weather, we're feeling the effects of people being cooped up for months, the economy hasn't restarted—we have a real problem here."

In late May, de Blasio blamed the surge in violence protests across Brooklyn and Manhattan on a "warped ideology," saying that there were clearly those who wished to incite violence and bring harm to police officers, noting in early June that Trump was responsible, saying that "the president of the United States helped to create this atmosphere, and that's the tragedy here."

This comes amid de Blasio expressing his intent to defund the police in early June despite the surge in violence.