New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch on Monday said that the NYPD removed over 1,000 illegal firearms from New York City streets since the beginning of the year.
City officials also said homicides and shootings have consistently declined over the last three years, dropping a total of 42.2% and 22.7%, respectively.
New Yorkers "can see and feel the difference," the mayor said through a statement.
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.
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.
“Today, we surpassed another milestone – seizing more than 1,000 illegal guns so far this year from our streets and subways," said Tisch. "Each of these guns represents a potential tragedy averted and life saved."
