Mr. Carson’s killing was the first in the West Village precinct this year. In all of 2012, one homicide was reported there.

But through the first week in May, there were 57 assaults, a sharp increase over the same period last year, when there were 33. According to police statistics, the number of violent altercations is higher this year than it was a decade ago but lower than in the 1990s, when citywide crime was higher.

“Things seem a little more hostile in the Village lately,” said Glennda Testone, the executive director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center on West 13th Street. “People have been saying it’s especially on the weekends, when there is more of a commuter crowd. Perhaps what we’re seeing is that the growing approval of the L.G.B.T. community and the increasing equality isn’t reaching to every single street.”

Sharon Stapel, the executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, said antigay violence had been worsened by the forces that are reshaping the city. “The Village has always been a place where L.G.B.T. people have felt accepted and respected,” she said, “but the Village is not immune from this vitriolic anti-L.G.B.T. violence. And we are not a homogeneous community. If you talk to young non-gender-conforming kids of color, they’re going to have a very different experience than older white L.G.B.T. people.”

The police say they have moved to stem felony assaults in the West Village that can often be traced to bar fights and late-night confrontations.

“That’s why there was an impact officer on duty there in the first place, the one who captured the shooter,” said Mr. Browne, referring to officers assigned to areas in need of additional policing. “The Village attracts crowds of visitors, especially on weekends, and impact officers are assigned there as a result.”