NY mayor: I don’t think we’ve had murder in two or three days

MANILA, Philippines - “New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg shared what he considers a small ray of light to come out of the darkness left in the wake of hurricane “Sandy.”

“I don’t think we’ve had a murder in two or three days,” Bloomberg said at his daily press briefing on Thursday. “That’s some good news.”

Yahoo! News reported that according to FBI data, 515 people were murdered in New York City in 2011 – or 1.41 murders per day. That was down from 2010, when 536 murders were recorded in the five boroughs.

The death toll from Sandy jumped to 37 people in New York alone, Bloomberg said on Thursday, with the number expected to rise.

Overall, 157 deaths have been blamed on the superstorm, including 85 in the United States.

But while the murder rate in New York City has slowed, looting inspired by the hurricane appears to be on the rise. According to the Associated Press, 15 people have been arrested in connection with looting in Queens since the storm hit on Monday.