Violent gang-related crime appears to be surging in some parts of the country, particularly in major Democrat-run cities like New York, and one media figure just found out how significant the problem is after a member of his family became a victim of it.

Fox Business host Charles Payne revealed on Wednesday that his adult niece had to undergo multiple surgeries after she was caught in the crossfire of a gang-related shooting in Harlem, according to the Daily Caller.

Payne said of the gang violence in parts of NYC, "I had no idea it was this bad. It’s really bad."

Caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting

Mediaite reported that Payne appeared on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday to discuss President Joe Biden's ongoing efforts to cancel student loan debt as well as an upcoming campaign event in NYC's Bronx borough for former President Donald Trump.

Payne praised Trump for going to the Bronx and said, "I wish he would go to Harlem. Two Mondays ago, my niece was shot on the street that I grew up on. My niece was shot on the street that I grew up on!"

"She doesn’t even hang out there; she doesn’t live there on the block anymore, but a good friend of mine who I’ve known for 45 years, her son passed away, and they were having a memorial for him," he continued. "And so these guys -- the gang violence is on the rise so much, it’s so underreported -- so they come around with their masks, they’re shooting crazy, one third floor apartment was all busted up."

Payne said the shooters had been looking for "another gang guy" at the memorial service and that his niece would be "ok." He explained, "She had four-hour surgery; she's ok now. She went home two days ago," and noted that his longtime friend "Cookie" had also been shot but was similarly recovering at home after being released from a hospital.

"Our country is really getting so cracked apart where the 'haves' are doing extraordinarily well, and again they live in safety and they eat their avocado toast and the rest of us, whether it’s in places where the opioid epidemic is out of control or places like -- my neighborhood was being gentrified, but this gang thing is really amazing. I had no idea it was this bad," he added.

Police sources confirm gang-related shooting

The New York Post reported that Payne's on-air revelation about the gang-related shooting of his niece and a friend was confirmed by its sources in the New York Police Department.

The sources said that Payne's niece, identified as Keisha Williams, 39, and his friend Cookie, 63, were not believed to be the intended targets of the shooting, which is under investigation though no arrests have been made yet.

Both women had been transported to a hospital in "stable condition" and, as Payne indicated, have since been released after undergoing surgery for their injuries.

Trump to hold campaign rally in the Bronx

The Trump campaign announced last week that former President Trump will hold a campaign event on Thursday, May 23, at Crotona Park in South Bronx, where he plans to "highlight the horrendous effects Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency" has had on the city and the nation more broadly, particularly in terms of high price inflation and surging violent crime.

"The Empire State, a place near to President Trump’s heart, has been decimated by Biden. President Trump will ease the financial pressures placed on households and re-establish law and order in New York!" the press release stated. "We can Make America Great Again by tackling lawlessness head-on, ceasing the endless flow of illegal immigrants across our southern border, and reversing the detrimental effects of inflation by restoring people’s wealth."