Crime & Safety
More Than 4,700 Illegal Guns Seized Off NYC Streets This Year: Adams
New York City accounts for the vast majority of the 6,000 illegal guns confiscated across the state in a wide crackdown, officials said.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City accounted for the vast majority of 6,000 illegal firearms seized across the state in a wide effort to tamp down gun violence, new data shows.
Mayor Eric Adams stood alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday to highlight a 20 percent increase in illegal weapon seizures since last year.
Adams said more than 4,700 firearms have been taken off the city's streets this year and police have made 3,000 gun arrests. He said the Big Apple's gun violence problem is one shared by other major cities.
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"If it's in Chicago or Atlanta, Detroit, St. Louis, no matter where you go, in large cities in America we're dealing with the problems of guns," he said.
"And, if we're honest about it, the victims are predominantly Black, Brown and poor."
Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
City, state and federal officials have stepped up efforts to dealing with a surge in shootings and murders amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Hochul and Adams unveiled the gun seizure data ahead of a meeting for the Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns, a sweeping effort to address gun violence.
Shootings are down 11 percent in New York City and 12 percent statewide, according to the data.
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