Three weeks, 10 shootings, 20+ victims, 2 dead. It’s been a hard summer in Jersey City, and yet most people seem to turn a blind eye. I put together a timeline of recent shootings and what we know so far.

June 26

Two people shoot at 11:37 pm on Ocean Avenue between Bidwell and Bayview. The 22-year-old and the 28-year-old both were hospitalized for injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

June 28

Four people were shot at a graduation party on Martin Luther King Drive. A 17-year-old male and a 16-year-old female were shot and injured. The two victims were at a friend’s graduation party when a teenager came in and said that shooting was about to start. The two friends ran to the exit where they were shot, just outside of the party on Armstrong Avenue. Although hospitalized, fortunately neither victim’s injuries are life-threatening.

July 1

Two men playing with fireworks were shot and injured by 3 police officers. The 19-year-old and the 21-year-old were treated for their injuries. 2 out of 3 officers were reported back to work. There have been no details on why the third officer isn’t back to work. There have been no other details about this specific shooting as it is an ongoing investigation.

July 4

There were 3 shootings that happened on Independence Day.

1. At 2:30 am, a shooting happened around Logan and Dales Avenue. Bullet wounds were found on a car as well as shell casing on the floor.
2. Around 3 am, shots were fired around Bergan and Ege Avenue. Shell casings were found on the floor.
3. Just before the day closes, a 53-year-old man was shot at Wegman Parkway. He was later treated at the hospital; his injuries weren’t life-threatening.

July 5

A 34-year-old man was shot in the area of Martin Luther King and Bidwell around midnight.

July 7

Two citizens were injured at 3 am. One with a grazed bullet wounded to the chest, the other victim shot in the leg. Their ages or genders have not been disclosed.

July 9

Two victims were shot on Stegman in the evening. The 22-year-old and the 29-year old injuries were not life-threatening.

July 15

Two citizens were injured in a shooting at 5 am. A man and woman were both shot in the leg on Dales Avenue.

July 20

Two wounded in Jersey City shooting and 1 teenager murdered in Bayonne. The teenager’s name is Jordan, he recently graduated from Snyder High School. These shootings happened overnight. The prosecutor’s office is still investing the homicide and giving out details as they go. Community Activist Pam Johnson posted more details on facebook.

Two men were also wounded in a shooting Saturday morning on Martin Luther King Drive and Union street. Both were treated for their injuries.

July 23

Markell Albright, 21 years old, was shot and killed at 8:25 pm. The heartbreaking part is the shooting took place 3 blocks away from where the victim’s father, William “Ghost” Albright, was shot dead in 2013. The shooting took place on Wilkinson between Ocean and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

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Spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione commented on almost all of these shootings in the representation of the Mayor and the City Council. While I deeply thank her for informing the city, I’d like a response from Steven Fulop himself as well as the council from Wards A, B, and F. Every summer, the violence in Greenville only gets worse. It’s been this way for much too long and we don’t pay taxes for these issues to be ignored. More importantly, I didn’t vote for my political leaders to tell me that there is nothing that they can do. If we can ban plastic bags, we can create more programs and resources for our youth over the summer.

Wallace-Scalcione did mention that the reason for all of these shootings is due to some inmates being released from prison. According to NJ.com, “Over the past two weeks, 14 people suffered gunshot wounds in the seven reported incidents. The city attributed the uptick in shooting incidents to “several key individuals being released from jail recently.”

I’m aware that the local news outlets get their facts verified through the police. While calling for the shooting that took place on June 28th, the line disconnected in the middle of me asking. I was confused and wondered if the line disconnected or if it was the party on the other side hanging up. I called again only to get the same result. They clearly didn’t want to comment.

If you look at the recent articles about shootings, you’ll see that local news outlets don’t have the entire story either. I’m unsure if the JCPD is holding information back from the public, but it doesn’t make the situation better nor does it keep the community safer. We need to be informed and get all the details because 10 shootings in three weeks warrants some concern.