Mayor Adams Announces Removal of Over 3,000 Illegal Firearms From New York City Streets Since Beginning of 2025 Alone, as Shootings and Shooting Victims Hit New Record Lows

July 27, 2025

Watch the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocDRWD3dWdU

Gun Seizures Have Led to Three Consecutive Years of Shooting and Homicide Declines, Shootings Down 54 Percent, Homicides Down 36 Percent Under Adams Administration

Adams Administration’s Focus on Interagency Collaboration and Targeted  Public Safety Efforts Has Resulted in Six Consecutive Quarters of Crime Reductions, Record Lows for Shooting Incidents and Shooting Victims Through First Half of 2025 

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch today announced that the NYPD has removed more than 3,000 illegal firearms from New York City streets since the start of 2025 alone. This year’s seizures bring the total number of illegal firearms seized since the start of the Adams administration in January 2022 to over 22,700. This success has helped drive a 54 percent decrease in shootings and a 36 percent reduction in homicides citywide under the Adams administration.

“Nothing makes me prouder than the records we are setting in the fight against gun violence that are making our city safer,” said Mayor Adams. “With six straight quarters of crime reductions and over 22,700 illegal firearms seized since 2022, we’re making real progress — one gun at a time. Each gun seized represents a life saved, a family protected, and a community made safer. Public safety is the prerequisite for everything else we do in this city, and, over the last three and a half years, we have worked to create safer streets, safer subways, and a safer city for all New Yorkers and their families. We will keep pressing for more officers, more safety, and more results to ensure that New York City remains the safest big city in America and the best place to raise a family.”

“When 3,000 guns are taken off the street, the impact on public safety is unquestionable — and we are already seeing the results,” said NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “During the first half of 2025, New York City had the lowest number of shooting victims in recorded history and tied the all-time low for shooting incidents. It’s the NYPD’s strategic plan in full effect: relentlessly following the data, taking down violent gangs, and deploying resources to our summer zones. Gun arrests are one of the most dangerous aspects of policing — and our officers have put themselves in harm’s way to keep us all safe. Thank you to Mayor Adams for ensuring our department had everything it needed to make this milestone possible.”

The NYPD is one of New York City’s first lines of defense against gun violence, and officers continue to save countless lives every day by continuing to take illegal firearms off the streets. The department’s focused enforcement helped make 2024 the fourth-lowest year for shootings in the city’s recorded history. In the first six months of 2025, New York City saw both the lowest number of shooting victims ever recorded in a six-month span and a tie for the fewest shooting incidents on record, matching the previous recorded low set in 2018. In June 2025, shooting incidents decreased by 30 percent compared to the same month last year, representing 125 fewer shooting victims. That decrease followed a 23.1 percent decrease in shootings during the first quarter of 2025, which marked the lowest number of shooting incidents for any quarter in the city’s recorded history.

Overall, major crimes also continue to trend downward across the five boroughs. In June 2025, major crime declined 6 percent citywide, driven by decreases in all seven major crime categories, with additional notable reductions in transit crime, housing development crime, hate crimes, and retail theft. From January through June 2025, major crime citywide dropped 5.5 percent compared to the same period last year, resulting in 3,348 fewer victims of major crimes across the five boroughs.

These successes have been supported by the NYPD’s targeted investigations into violent gangs, which have resulted in 48 gang takedowns year-to-date, leading to the arrests of 347 gang members and associates, as well as the seizure of 236 firearms. These efforts are directly contributing to fewer illegal guns on city streets and safer communities across the five boroughs.

Out of the more than 22,700 guns seized since the beginning of the Adams administration, over 1,500 of them have been identified as ghost guns — unserialized, and therefore untraceable, firearms that are assembled through components purchased either as a kit or as separate pieces or manufactured using 3-D printers. These weapons are fully functioning firearms and 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 137 so far in 2025.

In July 2024, Mayor Adams led a charge supporting an effort urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold commonsense 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 case of 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.  

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 carry illegal firearms and commit acts of violence is equally critical. 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 nearly 52 percent in 2024.

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.

Mayor Adams’ comprehensive gun violence strategy also includes upstream solutions guided by the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force he established in June 2022, which focuses on diversion programs, prevention efforts, and expanded opportunities for young people — all targeting the root causes of gun violence to ensure a safer environment for all New Yorkers. The task force’s commitments are formalized in the “Blueprint for Community Safety,” an investment of nearly $500 million to create safer, more resilient communities, with a focus on intervention and prevention.

The Adams administration also leads the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership, a 30+ multi-agency law enforcement partnership focused on strengthening investigations and prosecutions of the most severe gun offenders who drive violence in New York City. Members of the team meet every weekday morning to review felony gun violence arrests from the previous 24 hours and share intelligence to ensure perpetrators are held accountable and New Yorkers are kept safe. The partnership reviewed more than 700 cases in 2024, resulting in 85.5 percent of individuals being held on bail or remanded.

“New York City is seeing record lows in shootings and homicides, and that progress reflects our multi-pronged approach to public safety, including close law enforcement collaboration, focused prosecutions, and strong community engagement,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “I commend the NYPD for their outstanding work taking thousands of illegal guns off of our streets and our prosecutors for holding traffickers and shooters accountable. In Brooklyn, this strategy is working: shootings are down more than 20 percent and homicides nearly 40 percent this year, improving on last year's historic lows.”

“There is no greater priority for my office than to rid this borough of lethal firearms and the danger they pose in our communities,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we have meticulously targeted gun runners, investigating and prosecuting commercial gun trafficking rings as well as personally manufactured ghost and 3D-printed guns. We will continue to ensure the safety of every Queens resident, tourist and worker.”

“Simply put, the preponderance of illegal firearms, ghost guns, and assault weapons make New York City less safe,” said Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon. “Although Staten Island is witnessing record lows in shootings and shooting victims, more must be done to prevent these senselessly violent acts and to ensure the safety of our neighbors. From taking nearly 800 firearms off our streets through our gun buyback partnership with the NYPD to implementing precision prosecution in the courtroom, the men and women of my office are committed to removing illegal firearms from our communities and holding those who dare use these dangerous weapons accountable in the courtroom. I commend our partners in the NYPD for their heroic work and incredible efforts to remove over 3,000 illegal guns from our streets since the beginning of this year and look forward to continuing our work together to keep Staten Island the safest community of its size in the country.”

“I applaud the announcement by Mayor Adams and NYPD Commissioner Tisch that more than 3,000 illegal firearms have been removed from our city’s streets since the start of this year,” said New York State Assemblymember Chantel Jackson. “This milestone is a clear demonstration of the city’s commitment to enhancing public safety and saving lives. Each firearm taken out of circulation represents a potential act of violence prevented and a step toward safer communities, in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs, where the toll of gun violence is felt most deeply. This progress reinforces what we know to be true: targeted, consistent action makes a real difference. As we celebrate this achievement, we must also continue building on it by expanding access to the resources and opportunities that strengthen our communities, from education and workforce development to mental health and youth engagement programs. Public safety is not only about enforcement; it is about ensuring our communities are supported, heard, and equipped to thrive. Together, we can continue making strides toward a safer, stronger New York.”

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