An intense wild west gunfight that played out on the streets of the Bronx was caught on camera in incredible new footage released by New York police.
The video begins by showing what appears to be seven gang members brandishing pistols, firing at an unidentified target across the street.
This is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents of violent crime that have become more common throughout the five boroughs in the last 18 months, during which New York City has seen a rise in the number of shootings, felony assaults, and hate crimes.
Several of the men fired shots before sprinting away down the street, while two others crawled to take cover behind a parked car.
One other individual simply dropped to the floor and covered his head with his hands and a hood, miraculously emerging without any injuries.
The footage then cuts to another angle in which two other men in wearing hoods can be seen firing pistols back at the gang as they backed away.
Police are searching for the suspects shown in the video composed from several clips from street CCTV cameras on East 169th Street, which shows two groups exchanging gunfire from across the street before 10pm on September 16.
Last Monday, the FBI released its round up of 2020 crime figures which revealed that the US experienced the biggest increase in homicides year-to-year since records began in 1960, with an additional 4,901 homicides in 2020 compared with the year before.
Murders in New York City specifically soared 47 percent from 2019 to 2020, with a staggering 70 percent of shootings going unsolved.
The NYPD released surveillance footage asking the public for help in identifying these two individuals who were linked to incidents of gang shooting in The Bronx last month
The image above taken by a surveillance camera shows the initial moments gang members started shooting in the Morrisania section of The Bronx on September 16
The video begins by showing what appears to be seven gang members brandishing pistols, firing at an unidentified target across the street
The wild gunfight took place in the middle of East 169th Street just before 10pm on September 16
Several people were seen ducking for cover as the area turned into a turf war between rival gangs
Several of the men fired shots before sprinting away down the street, while two others crawled to take cover behind a parked car. The man pictured bottom dropped to the floor with no cover, simply cradling his head in his hands, but miraculously emerged unscathed
The NYPD released surveillance footage showing the scene from another angle. The image above shows one of the gunmen from a rival gang
Monday's incidents come as overall crime in New York City dropped in August after a summer crime wave that had city officials pointing fingers at each other.
Total crime dropped by one percent in August compared to August 2020, with the biggest drops being in burglary, -24 percent, and shooting incidents, -30.7 percent, according to the latest official monthly figures from the NYPD.
The trend may be reversing, as weekly numbers ending on Sunday show that felony assaults are up by 7 percent, shootings are up by 1.6 percent and rapes are up by 2.2 percent as a whole compared to the same time last year.
The NYPD on Monday asked the public for help in identifying two persons of interest believed to be connected to the shootings.
One tall, black male wearing a grey shirt and dark pants with mid length hair is seen walking down the street alongside a shorter black male wearing a grey hooded tracksuit and matching shorts and a buzz cut.
The NYPD reported the incident did
