De Blasio blasts New York City gang rape
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has denounced the “vicious” rape of a young woman by a group of men in the city.
De Blasio on Sunday pledged that police would work to swiftly apprehend suspects in "this vicious crime."
The comments followed the rape of an 18-year-old woman by five men at a Brooklyn playground.
Police said on Saturday the men took turns raping her at the playground operated by the New York City Parks Department in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn just after 9 p.m. on Thursday.
One man pointed a gun at her father and told him to leave, police said.
After the father left, the men each assaulted the woman and then fled when her father returned a short while later, accompanied by two officers.
The woman was treated at a hospital and released.
Police released surveillance video taken in a nearby bodega that they said showed the five suspects before the attack. The video depicts a group of black men in jackets and sweatshirts talking and laughing inside the store.
Police asked for the public's help in identifying the suspects.
De Blasio and his police commissioner, Bill Bratton, have faced criticism over the perception that major crime is rising in America's most populous city.
Major crimes were reported to have dropped 1.7 percent last year and by 5.8 percent since de Blasio took office two years ago. But some categories have increased, according to a report issued earlier this month. Rapes were up 6.3 percent last year.
Latest reports indicate two of the five men suspected of raping the woman turned themselves in on Sunday evening, while two others had been apprehended and one was still at large.
The four in custody ranged in age from 14 to 17 and charges were pending, according to a police statement.
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