A History of Violence: A Look Back at 5 Defining Tragedies in Brooklyn’s Past
Son of Sam Killings; July 31, 1977
So the next time someone says that they wished they lived in the New York of a few decades ago, just nod along in agreement and pay lip service to how much cooler it used to be back then and think to yourself how much happier you are not to have been living in the same society as David Berkowitz aka the Son of Sam. Beginning in the summer of 1976, Berkowitz went on a killing rampage that resulted in the deaths of 6 people, and injuries to 7 more. While most of his crimes took place in Queens and the Bronx, the entire city of New York felt terrorized by living under the threat of the Son of Sam. Only one of Berkowitz’s murders took place in Brooklyn, but it wound up being his final crime. Early in the morning (2:35 am) of July 31, 1977, Berkowitz approached a car that was parked in Bath Beach and shot both Stacy Moskowitz and Robert Violante in the head. Moskowitz died from her wounds, though Violante survived. Unlike Berkowitz’s other crimes, this one had a surplus of witnesses including one—Cecilia Davis—who saw the killer get into a ticketed car parked by a fire hydrant. When Davis told the police, they were able to trace Berkowitz through the parking ticket, and finally, the reign of the SOn of Sam came to an end. What is the moral here? Don’t park by hydrants? Don’t be a fucking mass murdering piece of human excrement? Do be happy that you don’t live in a time when serial killers have the run of the city? Yes. All of the above. Seriously. While I can only lament the fact that Brooklyn’s violent past did not involve vampires that look like Eddie Murphy, I think I can safely say that we’re all better off for not living through tragic events like these.
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