Mayheim in NYC

Police say shootings in Midtown Manhattan that left four injured early yesterday were connected to the start of the city’s annual auto show. Over 50 people were arrested – mostly on disorderly conduct charges – in the mayhem, which began after a group of youths left the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob A. Javits Center Sunday night. A man was shot in the ankle at Eighth Avenue and 40th Street shortly after midnight, and not long after a woman was shot with a BB gun several blocks away at Seventh Avenue and 51st Street. About two hours later, two women were shot – one in the elbow and another in the thigh – near Seventh Avenue and 34th Street. Police said they don’t know what sparked the shootings, but similar problems have happened during past auto shows. “Young men looking for trouble afterwards,” Chief NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne said. Easter Sunday has also become known in certain circles as “Gang Initiation Day.”