Man Attempts to Shoot Woman, Gun Jams Twice: NYPD

Screen image from video showing a gunman attempting to shoot a female victim in New York City Friday. (NYPD)

A man attempted to shoot a woman at point-blank range in New York City, but video footage showed his gun jammed twice.

The New York City Police Department released the footage on July 22 of what could have likely been a fatal incident.

The masked gunman was targeting a 45-year-old woman in Queens. He is still being sought, and it’s not clear why he tried to shoot her, according to Fox5 New York.

Police said the footage was captured Friday in South Ozone Park near John F. Kennedy International Airport on July 19.

According to video footage, the gunman is seen wearing what appears to be a black shirt over his face to conceal his identity.

The suspect wasn't able to get a shot off (NYPD)

The man's gun appeared to jam several times (NYPD)

The suspect's face was exposed as he ran (NYPD)

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As he runs to the woman, it appears his gun jams first. Then, when he tries to fire again, the gun doesn’t work.

“Thankfully the gun did not fire before the suspect fled the scene,” the NYPD wrote.

It's not clear why the man targeted the woman (NYPD)

The video then shows the shirt falling from the suspect’s face as he attempts to run.

The suspect is black, and police said that was wearing a white shirt, blue jean shorts, black Nike slides, and black socks.

Facts About Crime in the US

Violent crime in the United States has fallen sharply over the past 25 years, according to both the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

The rate of violent crimes fell by 49 percent between 1993 and 2017, according to the FBI’s UCR, which only reflects crimes reported to the police.

The violent crime rate dropped by 74 percent between 1993 and 2017, according to the BJS’s NCVS, which takes into account both crimes that have been reported to the police and those that have not.

A stock photo of police tape (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“From 1993 to 2017, the rate of violent victimization declined 74 percent, from 79.8 to 20.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older,” the U.S. Department of Justice stated.

Both studies are based on data up to and including 2017, the most recent year for which complete figures are available.

The FBI recently released preliminary data for 2018. According to the Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January to June 2018, violent crime rates in the United States dropped by 4.3 percent compared to the same six-month period in 2017.