Skift Take
The real mystery to other major cities in the U.S.: How does NYC manage to keep its crime so low?
New York officials proudly tout the Big Apple as the safest big city in America. But blasts of gunfire in front of crowds near some of the city's best-known destinations this month painted a picture at odds with its tame, tourist friendly image.
Police confronted a knife-wielding man in Times Square and then shot him to death a few blocks away Aug. 11 as onlookers followed along and snapped photos. And on Friday, a gunman with a workplace grudge shot a former co-worker dead outside the Empire State Building — and then was killed himself by police in a burst of bullets that left at least nine bystanders wounded, some apparently by police rounds.
"I thought it's impossible for something like this to happen here," Julien Berthoud said after his parents, visiting from Switzerland, ran from the gunshots and then returned a few minutes later to see victims lying on the ground, some of them bleeding, as onlookers wept and frantically called 911.
The recent shootings might not leave a lasting mark on the public's view of New York, which has seen its appeal to tourists endure terrorism. Only one of the injured bystanders was from out of town. Still, Friday's violence spurred officials to assure visitors they were safe, even as it spotlighted the difficult task police face in confr
