NYC Tackles Its Own Surge Of Guns In Schools In Wake Of Texas Shooting

NEW YORK, NY — The tragic shooting at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday has served as a wake up call for New York City's own surge of weapons flooding into its school system, according to officials.

Mayor Eric Adams, police and school officials vowed Wednesday to tackle a dramatic increase in guns and other weapons confiscated in New York City public schools as they mourned the 19 students and 2 adults killed at a Texas elementary school.

School safety teams have found more than 5,500 weapons and 20 guns in the city's schools so far this year, including at least three guns found in young two teenagers' backpacks just the last week, officials said.

"They were able to prevent a tragedy — this time," Adams said, pointing to the three guns found in knapsacks. "Public safety can't be about luck ... It's going to take so much more."

Since the start of the school year, safety teams have confiscated 5,546 "dangerous instruments" in schools, more than double the 2,473 found during that time period in the last pre-pandemic school year, officials said Wednesday.

The 20 guns found so far this year — including the three found in backpacks of a 13-year-old and 15-year-old last week — are a 300 percent increase from last year, when only five guns were recovered, officials said. City officials did not give data on how many guns were recovered in a typical school year before the pandemic, when students were not in classrooms full-time.

Adams said Wednesday his administration is working on increasing the number of school safety officers responsible for checking for weapons. A "roving" team of school safety agents already does extra spot checks at schools in areas of high crime, he said.

Wednesday's press conference also comes as Adams investigates weapons detection technology for both schools and the city's subway system, which has also been the sight of surging gun violence.

School officials are also looking into other safety measures, including better locking buildings when school is in session, Schools Chancellor David Banks said.

"We all feel the necessity to do more here at this time," said Banks, who is meeting with school union leaders next week. "The ante has been raised here and we've got to do more."

The weapons in schools are part of an "endless flow of guns" law enforcement has been tackling across New York City this year as it grapples with a spike in violent crimes, Adams said.

The weapons surge in schools seem to be a side effect of violence on the streets, according to officials.

"When we talk to the students who brought [the weapons] to school, they are not meant to resolve conflicts in school — they are afraid," Banks said. "They don’t feel safe in the streets ... there are threats that are made against them and they are saying to us, 'I’m trying to protect myself so I can make it home.'"

Also at fault, according to the mayor, is "indoctrination" of violence on social media, including an Instagram music video he shared of young people waving guns and rapping about finding "a body."

The mayor — who has famously advocated for searching kids' rooms for contraband — called on parents Wednesday to be on the lookout for weapons in their own child's possession or information about other students who might be a threat.

"We’re asking parents to sit down tonight and have an honest conversation with their children," the mayor said. "This is not blaming parents ... just the opposite. These guns are being placed in the hands of their babies because of people that are dangerous to our city. We want to arm them with tools and ways to identify this problem."