As New York City leaders and law enforcement are trying to find a way to get guns off the street amid a citywide spike in crime, FDNY officials are finding guns on some of the city’s most unexpected rooftops.
On Wednesday, during a noontime inspection of an air conditioning unit, an FDNY fire inspector, Aklakur Rahman, discovered a loaded automatic weapon on the rooftop of a 10-story high-rise at 2757 Morris Ave. in the Bronx, which operates as New Life Outreach International — a community church.
According to fire sources, the uncovered weapon was loaded with seven rounds of ammunition and members of the NYPD’s 52nd Precinct responded to the scene. Police sources told the Bronx Times that the weapon had previously been used in a shooting in the Kingsbridge section, but did not disclose the specifics of that crime.
“This important discovery could help solve a crime already committed, it could have been used again in future crimes, or a young child could have found it, picked it up, leading to another sad gun tragedy for our city,” said Oren Barzilay, president of the FDNY EMS Local 2507, which represents the fire inspectors said. “Each and every day when our FDNY Fire Prevention Inspectors are in the field, they always go out of their way to look out for other red flags present at buildings all across the city. I commend Fire Inspector Rahman for taking another dangerous gun off our local streets.”
The FDNY has a team of inspectors specifically trained to go out across the city and walk the halls, basements, rooftops and yard areas of buildings for any potential violations.
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes.
