Superstorm Sandy has brought its share of calamity and devastation to New York City, since it made landfall in the Northeast on Monday evening. But there's at least one ray of light: There were no homicides over an almost five-day period.
New York Police Department Detective Cheryl Crispin confirmed that as of 5 p.m. ET Friday, there had been no homicides in New York City since a reported death at 3:40 a.m. Monday in the 62nd Precinct in Brooklyn.
That's unusual in the United States' largest city: In the week of Oct. 15 to Oct. 21 this year, for example, there were five murders, according to the NYPD CompStat Unit. That same week in 2011 saw 13 murders.
The homicide rate in New York has been declining in recent decades. In 2011, 515 deaths were classified as homicides, according to city figures.
In the Monday incident, a man who had reportedly been beaten by a group of men died at Lutheran Medical Center in New York, WNBC's Jonathan Dienst reported. Four people were arrested.
But despite the lull in homicides, Superstorm Sandy was deadly: The U.S. toll has risen to nearly 100.
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