New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday said the New York City Police Department removed over 20,000 illegal firearms from city streets since 2022, an increase of approximately 3,000 more guns compared to the previous three years.
The 20,000 guns removed since 2022 include over 1,400 ghost guns, untraceable firearms assembled from kits or parts often purchased online or 3D-printed, according to a press release. These weapons have become an escalating concern, with recoveries increasing yearly from 17 ghost guns in 2018, 48 in 2019, 150 in 2020, 263 in 2021, 585 in 2022, 394 in 2023 and 438 in 2024.
The Adams administration credits its focus on public safety for the declines in violent crime. Since 2022, homicides have dropped by 22.7%, and shooting incidents have decreased by 42.2%. In 2024, the city recorded its fourth-lowest number of shooting incidents since the NYPD’s CompStat system began tracking crime data in 1993, according to a press release…