New York City cab drivers say enough is enough after two taxi driver shootings in less than two weeks left one of their own wounded and rattled a workforce that spends its days alone behind the wheel. On Sunday, drivers joined community leaders at a rally to demand that officials do more to get illegal guns off the streets before another driver or bystander is hurt.
Caution tape still surrounded the scene on North Portland Avenue, where police say a 50-year-old taxi driver was shot while trying to break up an argument that had erupted after a crash. What should have been a routine fender bender turned into gunfire, leaving the driver wounded and the block marked off as investigators worked to piece together what happened.
That shooting followed the recent shooting of a 21-year-old ride-share driver who was shot in the neck during an attempted carjacking, according to police. Coming so close together, the two attacks have shaken drivers across the city who say they now feel like targets simply for doing their jobs and picking up fares on the street.
Both cases remain unsolved, a fact that has deepened the frustration among drivers and the leaders who stood with them at the rally. Speakers warned that stray gunfire does not discriminate, with one telling the crowd that bullets do not have eyes and that any bystander to a shooting could end up a victim, no matter who the intended target was.
The drivers placed the blame squarely on the flow of illegal firearms, arguing that the weapons remain on the streets because not enough is being done to stop them. Their message at the Sunday rally was pointed, calling on city and state officials to treat the attacks on drivers as an urgent public safety problem rather than isolated incidents.
In an effort to break the cases open, the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers announced it is offering a 10,000 dollar reward for information that helps solve either of the two cab driver shootings. The drivers said they hoped the reward would encourage witnesses to come forward and help bring those responsible to justice while restoring a sense of safety on the job.