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Machine Guns Back on the Streets?
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 15, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 15, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Why was a 33 year old man running around the streets of Jamaica, Queens, firing a machine gun on Monday? To settle a beef with his sister's ex, of course. Patrick Ledger was unable to find his sister's ex, though, so he started firing the weapon around 179th Street and Hillside Avenue. After many 911 calls, the police found Ledger and shot him in the eye when he refused to put down the gun. The NYPD says that they haven't seen that kind of semi-automatic gun for a decade (Commissioner Ray Kelly said "street sweeper" type weapons were more common in the mid 1990s). WCBS 2 pointed out that these kinds of guns have been recently reclassified by the government as "simple handguns."
Ledger was charged with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment. He is in serious condition at Mary Immaculate Hospital.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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