Mamdani faces backlash over remarks after baby killed in Brooklyn drive-by

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is drawing sharp criticism from politicians and commentators after he framed the broad daylight killing of a 7-month-old Brooklyn girl in terms of gun violence rather than the criminals responsible.

Kaori Patterson-Moore was struck by a stray bullet Wednesday afternoon while in a double stroller being pushed by her mother near Humboldt and Moore streets in East Williamsburg. The shooter, Amuri Greene, has since been charged with murder, attempted murder and assault. Police are still searching Friday for the driver of the moped who fled the scene following a crash that led to Greene’s arrest.

Mr. Mamdani responded to the killing by saying the city could not numb itself to the pain of families who had lost children, before calling on the city to address gun violence, language that immediately drew backlash from critics who said it placed the blame on the guns rather than the perpetrators.

“Literally anything but blaming the criminals our system releases onto our streets repeatedly, over and over again, with no consequences,” New York Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino posted on X.

Rafael A. Mangual, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital that Mr. Mamdani’s focus on the weapon used “suggests that he is uncomfortable with acknowledging that the murder of Kaori Patterson-Moore was committed by two evil thugs whose complete disregard for the value of human life should prevent them from ever experiencing freedom.”

Mr. Mangual added that framing the killings as a gun problem rather than a crime problem was politically more convenient territory for a progressive mayor whose base simultaneously supports gun control and a more lenient criminal justice system.

Mr. Mamdani, who has faced sustained criticism following past calls to defund the police, also drew criticism in February after his preliminary budget for fiscal 2027 canceled a planned expansion of 5,000 additional NYPD officers and proposed a modest $22 million cut to the department’s $6.4 billion budget. He thanked the New York Police Department in a post on X after Wednesday’s shooting, although that failed to quell his critics.

Attorney Jim Walden, a former mayoral candidate who ran against Mr. Mamdani in the 2025 election before dropping out in September, was blunt about