Second, when there is a nonfatal shooting, they try to calm people and prevent retaliation.

Right now, the workers respond only to nonfatal shootings, because state officials have needed stronger evidence of results, Lieutenant Andreychak said.

The neighborhood endured well over 100 murders during the crack years, and there were five times as many nonfatal shootings that also had to be investigated.

The police traced one of the 9-millimeter guns to a nonfatal shooting that occurred on Oct. 13, 2001, in the 73rd Precinct.

The nonfatal shootings included an attempted robbery of two men in Manhattanville, both of whom were shot when they resisted, the police said.

One was the nonfatal shooting of Frank Costello, known as "the boss of racketeers," in 1957.

For the last seven months of the year, this resulted in more than 2,600 arrests, including 114 homicide suspects and 152 suspects in nonfatal shootings.

A British soldier will face a court-martial for the nonfatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in southern Iraq last year.

In 1968, he was convicted in connection with a nonfatal shooting and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The nonfatal shooting in September would be regrettable, quite messy, painful-but necessary, and calculated to do as little damage as possible.