Residents and business owners in the Bronx’s 44th Precinct say a stronger police presence has made the area safer in recent years, but a string of shootings last week has renewed concerns about gun violence.
One of those incidents happened Sunday evening near East 157th Street and Gerard Avenue, when witnesses said a group of young men exchanged gunfire, sending bullets through the neighborhood. A round struck a local deli, narrowly missing owner Mohammed Saleh.
Saleh said he was behind the counter serving a customer when the shooting erupted…