Gun Seizures Have Contributed to 23 Percent Reduction in Homicides and 42 Percent Reduction in Shootings Since January 2022
Our Bureau
New York, NY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has removed more than 20,000 illegal firearms from New York City streets since the beginning of the administration — which is approximately 3,000 more guns off our streets than the previous three-year period from 2019 to 2021. Because of the Adams administration’s steadfast focus on eradicating gun violence, homicides and shootings have consistently declined over the last three years — with homicides decreasing a total of 22.7 percent and shootings decreasing 42.2 percent since Mayor Adams was sworn in on January 1, 2022. Additionally, 2024 was the fourth lowest year for shooting incidents citywide since the NYPD CompStat management system began tracking crime statistics over 30 years ago, in 1993.
“The North Star of our administration has been safer streets, safer subways, and a safer city for New York families,” said Mayor Adams. “And that means taking on the issue of gun violence. The NYPD has removed more than 20,000 illegal firearms from our streets since the day I was sworn in as your mayor. That’s 20,000 weapons that no longer threaten the safety of our neighborhoods, our families, and our children. That’s 20,000 fewer chances that a New Yorker is shot or killed — 20,000 rivers of violence dammed up before they flood our city. This is a major milestone. Over the past three years, we launched Neighborhood Safety Teams and established the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force — we invested in diversion programs, targeted the root causes of gun violence, raised expectations, and increased enforcement across the board. Because of our steadfast focus on eradicating gun violence, New York City continues to be the safest big city in America.”
“Since the start of this administration, the NYPD has successfully taken a staggering 20,000 illegal guns off the streets of New York City — weapons that pose a serious threat to all our communities,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “Whether on the streets or in the subways, our officers work tirelessly to seize these weapons, and the results are clear: shootings are down 42 percent throughout the city. Every single gun we seize is a potential life saved and tragedy averted, and we will continue our efforts to crack down on illegal trafficking and protect New Yorkers from this violence.”
The NYPD is New York City’s first line of defense against gun violence, and officers continue to take firearms off the streets in record numbers every day. The consistent decreases in homicides over the last three years have saved 268 lives and resulted in 1,500 fewer shooting victims during the Adams administration. Year-to-date, in 2025, there have already been 350 illegal firearms removed from city streets, as NYPD officers continue to save lives.
Every firearm taken off a city street is only one part of the equation — ensuring meaningful consequences for the small percentage of New Yorkers who possess illegal firearms and commit violence is another. The 2019 state legislative changes to discovery were necessary to improve the fairness of the criminal justice system, however some of the consequences have crippled the system, leading to case dismissals for technical violations and increased case processing times, including for firearm charges. Prior to discovery reform, local district attorneys declined to prosecute or dismissed 32 percent of non-violent felony cases in New York City — that number increased to 51 percent in 2023.
Out of the more than 20,000 guns seized, more than 1,400 of them have been identified as ghost guns — unserialized (and therefore untraceable) firearms that are put together by components purchased either as a kit or as separate pieces or printed through 3-D printers, and that are fully functioning as fully finished, serialized firearm. These untraceable firearms often end up in the hands of criminals, as well as underage purchasers. Incidents involving ghost guns reflect a dangerously escalating trend — one that the NYPD is leading the charge against. The NYPD recovered 17 ghost guns in 2018, 48 in 2019, 150 in 2020, 263 in 2021, 585 in 2022, 394 in 2023 and 438 in 2024.
In July 2024, Mayor Adams led the charge urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold common sense ghost gun regulations. Along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., Mayor Adams announced the filing of an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Garland v. VanDerStok, in support of federal regulations issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that require ghost gun parts to have serial numbers and compel background checks for prospective buyers of ghost gun home-assembly kits.
Ending gun violence continues to be Mayor Adams’ top priority. In his first month in office, in January 2022, Mayor Adams released the “Blueprint to End Gun Violence,” which laid out his priorities to immediately address the crisis of guns on New York City streets. Pursuant to the blueprint, in March 2022, the NYPD launched its Neighborhood Safety Teams to focus on gun violence prevention in areas that account for a disproportionate amount of citywide shootings.
