By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Monday announced that the NYPD has removed over 1,000 illegal firearms from Big Apple streets since the beginning of the new year.
Adams and Tisch also noted that homicides and shootings have consistently declined over the last three years, dropping a total of 42.2 percent and 22.7 percent for shootings and homicides, respectively.
Last year marked the fourth lowest year in recorded history for shooting incidents citywide. In February 2025, shooting incidents decreased by 20.8 percent compared to the previous year, representing 22 fewer shooting victims, following a decrease of 21.5 percent in January 2025. For the first two months of the year, shooting incidents were at the lowest points in the city’s recorded history.
Overall major crimes also continue to trend downward. In February 2025, there was a 14.5-percent decrease in major crime citywide – the third consecutive month of double-digit decreases in crime – following a 15.5-percent decrease in crime in December 2024 and 16.8-percent decrease in crime in January 2025, the largest one-month decrease since before Adams came into office.
Out of the more than 20,700 guns seized since the beginning of the Adams administration, 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 firearms. 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, 438 in 2024, and already 40 so far in only the first two months of 2025.
“Every day, the brave men and women of the NYPD are out there doing this dangerous work – working to protect New Yorkers against violent, armed recidivists – and this year alone, they have already removed more than 1,000 illegal guns from city streets,” Adams said. “When you deploy well-trained officers to the right areas, New Yorkers can see and feel the difference, and because of our steadfast focus on eradicating gun violence, New York City continues to be the safest big city in America.”
Tisch added, “Across the city, we continue to break crime records and make our communities safer. We saw the lowest number of shootings in recorded history for the first two months of the year combined, and we’re down double-digits in major crimes. Today, we surpassed another milestone – seizing more than 1,000 illegal guns so far this year from our streets and subways. Each of these guns represents a potential tragedy averted and life saved. This is what relentless, targeted enforcement looks like, and it’s all because of the tireless work that the men and women of the NYPD do every day to keep us safe.”
