A reporter asked Police Commissioner Kelly what he thinks the cause is of this so-called Summer of Violence. He said there's no one cause, and the uptick in shootings is simply the nature of police work. That got me thinking, why does it seem like there are so many more shootings lately? Granted, NYPD statistics show the number of shootings has climbed every year since 2009, but maybe it's us; by us I mean the media. Naturally, I would argue it's summertime police stats...or is it summertime slow news days? Either way, it's a conversation that must take place, and I'm glad we're giving New Yorkers on both sides of the gun control issue the opportunity to voice their opinions.

For the tenth time this year, a New York City police officer was shot. Minutes after our show ended last night, 15-year veteran Craig Bier was shot in both legs in Jamaica, Queens. Mayor Bloomberg said, "Another night, and another shooting of one of our finest."

The 44-year-old sergeant is in stable condition after surgery. The suspect, identified as 24-year-old John Thomas from Queens, is still on the loose. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said a gun recovered near the scene was bought in Virginia and stolen in 1994.

The situation may have escalated from a Stop, Question and Frisk. Kelly said when police "went to stop an individual on a bicycle, this other individual started to run. So they ran after him and that's when the shooting took place." What do you say?

What's your reaction to the tenth shooting of a police officer in a little more than seven months? How would you get illegal out-of-state guns off the streets? Do shootings like this justify Stop, Question and Frisk?

Send your thoughts using the link above.

Again I ask just where are all of the politicians that have been collecting checks for years and years and no one shows up to even make an appearance. Where is Chucky? He seems to have this fixation about Friday night press conferences and that's the only time we ever see or hear from him. There should be no plea bargaining starting with association, possession and the use of guns.

So now all the phone calls start about getting the guns off the street.

This assembly woman from the Bronx that called me had her whole family in politics in our borough and so now it becomes and issue to get the guns off the streets and out of the hands of the criminals. That's why I say all of these politicians have been around to long and have done nothing and so now they are using the guns to me as an excuse and not a reason.

So was the one on the bike a lookout of sorts and if he was he is just as guilty.
If the penalty is a standard one then it will be a success.

maxxiee
mp

We live in a violent society, mix that with the indigent and social outcast of our society who basically see their lives as worthless and you will always have incidents of shootings and other criminal behavior.

Felix Bay Ridge

easy if you commit a crime with a gun 5 years in jail shoot a cop 25 to life no parole the gun is not that the problem liberal judges are

tom
richmondtown

Woodside: This shooting of a sergeant proves how important Stop,question & frisk is to prevent crime.I hope he will be okay. Anyone who would shoot a cop would shoot anyone The civil liberties union has had nothing to say about any of the shootings this summer.

Rosemary

Being a police officer is clearly a dangerous job, and these ten shootings are no more or less important then the greater number of civilians who have been shot in the past year. Just like all the other people, police or not who have been shot, it just shows how damaged our society is right now. Asking how they will get illegal guns off the street is about as nebulous a question and is pretty much the same impossible task as stopping the drugs that go hand in hand with the guns. I hope that it's not a huge secret that most of these out-of-state guns are bought with drugs and drug money that are exported from this city in exchange for guns. It is the Wall Street of the streets and too many people make money from it for anyone to really stop it. As for whether is justifies Stop and Frisk, not really since it just comes down to averages. If they stop a bunch of Wall Street executives or search their business dealings I'm sure you will find one or two who have illegal drugs and are stealing money.

RL
The Bronx

First, I'd say that, if Bier was alone, he shouldn't have been. There should be a minimum of 2 cops on patrol. In some cases, in some neighborhoods, maybe more.

Second, if there had been a substantial police presence, not sitting in air-conditioned cars, but really patrolling the streets, this incident might not have taken place.

Third, they should have left the bicycle rider alone, i.e. not stopped and frisked him. Then the, shooter versus cop incident would not have taken place.

Fourth, the gun was stolen thus proving that, if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. No law on the books or contemplated would have stopped this Virginia gun from arriving in NYC and being used to shoot a cop.

Joe
Port Richmond, SI

The police have the right to stop and check persons whom they suspect of any wrong
doing. Some of these people just looking around "who else to rob or shoot" as a law abiding
citizen of this country I am pleased when the police stop and frisk, ONLY GUILTY
PERSONS GET ANNOYED OVER THIS POLICY.

When someone shot at a police, that shows "no respect for the law" therefore such person
when caught should be sentence to life in prison, and more so have those in jail work
to feed themselves, it's not right for tax payers money to feed them.

I would like to extend my "get well soon wishes" to the sergeant who got shot and I hope
justice would BE SERVE !

Ruthann
Queens

Legal, illegal what difference does it make honestly did the Wisconsin shooter obtain his illegally? No did the shooter in aurora Colorado get his arsenal illegally? No.

Stop & frisk is always an option for those who are not having there rights violated I'm willing to submit to one for all you Caucasians in the city out there if you are willing to be subjected to your rights being violated under the perception that you fit the profile of a potential mass murdering lunatic because you "fit the profile"

No this current shooting does not in my opinion validate stop & frisks because the NYPD statistic have proven that. It doesn't validate it any more then stopping every white male under the pretense that they could be the next maniacal mass murderer

Francisco
Upper West Side

Police officers getting shot, little kids getting shot, I dont feel safe anymore, we need police presence on the streets, illegal guns are here to stay but we need to find a way to fight back

Carmen from Bay Ridge

In a country that has so many different people from so many different countries, with such a large youth group whose sense of mortality is warped because they are young, should not have guns.

Its an out dated amendment! That worked for a world that had communities miles away, a time when other laws where only being studied and implemented, a time where safety against animals was lively hood.

We don't live in that time anymore.

Sam NY

There are 17 year olds in the projects with guns. Those guns come from gun traffickers and their suppliers. A nation-wide crack-down on traffickers is the only way to stop the madness. Mayor Bloomberg has begun with his 700 mayors coalition. They need to partner with law enforcement and even the NRA to put the traffickers who are flooding cities with illegal guns in jail.

Bobby G
East Village

where does the guns came from is the police still stealing and handed out on street

Bishop from
queens

"Aint no uzis made in Harlem..... This is big business." Guns are a national issue. This has become a commodity...it'll never stop...im ok with that. just keep it out of our inner cities....we are already socially disorganized as it is.

the quote is from nino brown a character played by Wesley snipes in new jack city

Jeffrey

STOP AND FRISKS ARE ILLEGAL!! HIGHLIGHTING "VIOLENCE" OR THE DEATH OF AN "OFFICER" IN THE MEDIA WILL NOT CHANGE IT. 684,000 INNOCENT PEOPLE WERE FALSELY ARRESTED UNDER STOP AND FRISKS, AND IT DID NOTHING TO SOLVE CRIME! IT IS A TERRIBLE WASTE OF TAX PAYERS MONEY! MAYOR BLOOMBERG, COMMISSIONER KELLY "LET

DANET

The city state and government want to complain about gun violence but the government is involved in gun violence. The cops have been killing unarmed innocent people for decades and the government gives guns to Mexican drug cartels (fast and furious)

Chris, Jamaica queens

The reality is it will never stop until the message goes stiffer jail time guns will never stop coming here money talks 15 years and better

Jachin

In my opinion, police lives should be as equal as civilians lives. It makes me upset to hear today in the news that a older mentally disturbed man in Texas was killed trough the death penalty when currently we have a man who shot and kill 6 and he will only get live sentence. If the death penalty is going to be used there should be many reviews as how to used such system.

Jacinto
NYC

While Mayor Bloomberg should be applauded for advocating tougher control laws he needs to be aware of a gaping loophole in the NYPD's handling of confiscated ammunition. Recently it has been reported that confiscated shell casings from crime scenes are sold to munitions manufacturers who remake them into bullets. When asked about this the Mayor was surprisingly nonchalant. If the Mayor is serious about gun control he has to address all aspects of the problem which includes controlling the sources: ammunition manufacturers. Guns are not being manufactured in the inner cities.

Gail

As far as another cop being shot, it saddens me the same as if it was any other person. I think the answer to reduce gun violence is simple and basically what mr. Murphy said. We need more POSITIVE influences amongst our youth. If we simply make gun laws stricter, that won't be enough! If someone wants a gun badly enough, they will find a way to get it. However, the more positive activities we have, especially for children and teenagers, the less violence we will see! We need to stop complaining and blaming and take care of our city, become a role model for our future leaders.

miko from inwood

You can stop illegal guns from coming in but at this late in the game n.y. Is already flooded. It would take years upon year, state and federal is the key They should cooperate before someone's murdered instead of after it happens.

Paul
Jamaica.qns

I think stop and frisk is definitely a great idea because it keeps people from standing on corners and committing crimes.. it had changed alot of neighborhoods in the bronx if they kept the program without racial profile then it will continue to make changes with the youth. Parents are the reason children and teens are running the streets late at night if they really want a change they need to do their part and raise their children correctly.

Christian

The discussion must also include the Constitutional right of law abiding citizens to bear arms.

Jack
Cedarhurst, NY

I'm from queens and I work in the command where the officer was shot I think its sad and I pray that the officer has a speedy recovery. This is why I think stop and frisk should continue.

To the caller cathy I live in south jamaica where the officer was shot. there are more than enough places for kids and teenagers to go to keep from being killed or locked up yes guns are on the loose but there are programs like auxiliary police that helps you get college credits there is the explorers programs for kids 13 and up the PAL cadets program.

Princess

The question is not the guns but the kids that use them. The kids i know think it's cool to shot someone and don't care what happens after.

Anonymous

Sad to hear this recurring comment - that violence has escalated because "kids have nothing to do"..... REALLY!!??? The sad reality is that the process of preparing a child to function efficiently and successfully in today's world is a task that requires so much - believe me there is always PLENTY to do.

The cold reality is that many parents have not completed that metamorphosis from irresponsible child to responsible adult. too many are incompetent + illiterate, too many parents fail to plan their families far too many are financially + intellectually ill prepared to be of any benefit to these children they have prematurely conceived. Responsibility, from early on, lies in the hands of the parents when it comes to the building blocks of basic education and moral fiber. Children must be raised with a work ethic and a respect for authority at a very early age. When these fundamentals are missing, therein lies the basis for counter productive, self destructive, negative behavior - and it's all downhill from there. This creates the monster- the dysfunctional that roams the streets, violating rules, preying on others to survive because they never learned the basic skills to flourish and function within the boundaries of the law.

Violence appears to be intrinsic human behavior. We have seen violent behavior, dominance, and territorial conquest characterize humanity going back before records were systematically kept - long before rap, long before violent movies. That we, as humans, have not evolved is troubling.

Def P.