Gun violence continues to ebb citywide

Continuing a welcome trend that emerged in the last few months of 2022, killings and shootings citywide decreased in the first three months of this year, according to police data.

The 222 shootings recorded by the NYPD through March represented a year-over-year decline of 23 percent, while the 89 homicides were 13 fewer than occurred in the first quarter last year, a nearly 13 percent drop. 

March’s decline in shootings was even more evident, with the 85 shootings representing a year-over-year decrease of 26 percent. The 31 homicides last month were four fewer than in March 2022.  

At a briefing on crime trends Thursday, police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the declines in shootings and killings “are a direct reflection of the NYPD’s commitment to confront gun violence in our city, and they underscore our focus of ending the proliferation of illegal firearms.”

But while gun crimes have ebbed generally, NYPD officials noted the emergence of a current of firearms-related offenses among the city’s youth, which research has shown is evidence of a nationwide trend but is more prevalent in New York City. 

Sewell said that a “significant number” of shooting incidents involving youth are attributable to battles between gangs and street crews. 

Through March 26, five persons under 18 were victims of homicide, compared to one through the same period, and 31 were shooting victims, two more than last year, according to the NYPD. Four were shot to death.  

Late on Thursday, an 18-year-old man was stabbed to death onboard a Manhattan-bound D train following an argument with another male just before it pulled into the Atlantic Avenue/Barclays Center station, police said. 

While 10 percent of the city’s shooting victims last year were under 18, they have accounted for 12 percent so far this year, said NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri, who called the trend “unacceptable.” Youths under 18 have accounted for 11 percent of the more than 1,000 gun arrests so far this year, he added. 

Noticeable spike in NYC

A recent study of gun violence among youth found that firearm injuries to New Yorkers under 18 tripled during the roughly 21-month period that began at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020.

The study, which looked at data in four cities — Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York — found that racial and ethnic disparities associated with gun violence increased during that period, with Black children experiencing “disproportionate shares of the increased violence.”

The study did not evaluate the causes of the uptick, but nonetheless concluded that the results “are broadly consistent with research identifying sharper pandemic-associated violence increases in neighborhoods with less racial and economic privilege.” 

Among possible explanations cited by the research letter were pandemic-associated reductions in jobs, health care and schooling. “The concentration of firearm victimization among Black, Hispanic, and Asian children must be addressed at the individual, community, and societal levels. It is critical to focus community safety and mental health interventions in the most affected communities and to target structural racism as a fundamental driver of the US firearm violence epidemic,” the study concluded. 

While Sewell said that overall decreases in gun crimes represented “significant, tangible steps toward our very clear objective: end gun violence, hold offenders accountable and save lives,” she added that continued cooperation among numerous stakeholders is imperative if violent crime is to continue to decline. “This significant undertaking requires an all-hands approach” with all city agencies, community groups, elected officials and business groups all playing a part, she said.  

But some of those approaches, particularly those that are community based, could be jeopardized given Mayor Eric Adams’ recent call for across-the-board budget trims. 

Police officials otherwise recorded year-to-date declines in rapes, robberies, burglaries and grand larcenies, but also noted an increase in felony assaults and car thefts.

richardk@thechiefleader.com