Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced fierce criticism when he responded to the death of a 7-month-old baby girl who was struck by a stray bullet in Brooklyn.The tragic death of Kaori Patterson-Moore on Wednesday led to demands for change from the community, but Mamdani fell back on tired old tropes.'We all know you still hate police and policing and would dine with this vile criminal if you could get away with it, politically.'"This is not the first family in our city to know this pain," Mamdani said during a media briefing Thursday."Too many children have never grown up into becoming adults," he added. "Too many parents have had to bury those that they love the most. We cannot accept this as normal in our city. We cannot grow numb to this pain, and today is a devastating reminder of just how much more work there is to be done to combat gun violence across this city."Critics saw the statement as blaming guns rather than criminals."Literally anything but blaming the criminals who our system releases onto our streets repeatedly, over and over again, with no consequences," said NYC Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino. "Absolute disgrace.""Framing this as a gun problem rather than an evil gangbanger problem is more familiar territory for a self-styled progressive," said Manhattan Institute fellow Rafael A. Mangual to Fox News Digital, "whose political base is constituted by people simultaneously (if dissonantly) committed to the cause of 'gun control' as well as efforts to reorient the criminal justice system to be more lenient toward the offenders who pull triggers.""We should focus on the family's loss today. But every time you now 'thank NYPD,' it burns my blood after you spent your career attacking them and coddling criminals," replied attorney Jim Walden, who ran against Mamdani.RELATED: Curtis Sliwa cozies up to Mamdani in cutesy cat comedy sketch — and Republicans are calling him a traitor "You really should be ashamed of yourself, @NYCMayor," Walden added. "But we all know you still hate police and policing and would dine with this vile criminal if you could get away with it, politically."Police have arrested a suspect in the shooting who was allegedly caught on surveillance video. The video shows one man apparently shooting while riding as a passenger on a moped being driven by another man. The driver is being sought by police. The baby's family said she had just learned to say her first word, which was "mama." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!