New York City shootings down 25% from last year
- Shootings have dipped by a quarter since last year in NYC, data show
- The drop comes after a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Chicago and LA have also seen a drop in shootings
FILE: An NYPD car. (Getty Images)
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(NewsNation) — Shootings in New York City in the first half of the year are down 25% from the same time period last year, according to statistics compiled by NYPD.
The dip in gun violence comes after a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic that affected many major metro areas including Chicago and Los Angeles.
Acting Police Commissioner Edward Caban said at a briefing Thursday that shootings have declined for 13 consecutive weeks, the New York Times reported.
“It is no coincidence,” Caban said at the briefing. “From the beginning of this administration, we made the fight against gun violence our top priority.”
Through Sunday, reports of crimes considered major felonies, including murder, rape and burglary, are down from last year, police data show. Those three dropped by about 10% each; robbery by 5% and grand larceny by 1.5%.
Auto thefts are up 18% and felony assaults up 6%.
A police official cited the uptick in car thefts to the ease of stealing certain models, the Times reported. Hyundai and Kia have both deployed software fixes intended to stop a rash of thefts of their vehicles, but it hasn’t solved the problem.
Elsewhere in the country, shootings are also down 7% in Chicago and 18% in Los Angeles from the same period last year.
