gun violence

NYC's Surge in Gun Violence Sees Spike in Kid, Teen and Young Adult Victims

New York City has been grappling with an outstanding increase in gun violence over the past few months.

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What to Know

  • The spike in gun violence that has rattled New York City has particularly impacted children, teens, and those in their early 20s, according to NYPD statistics.
  • New York City has been grappling with an outstanding increase in gun violence over the past few months.
  • From Jan. 1 to July 12, there were 53 children shot versus 37 during the same period last year. Additionally, there have been 215 shooting victims ages 18-24 during the same period this year versus 125 in 2019.

The spike in gun violence that has rattled New York City has particularly impacted the city's youth with children, teens, and those in their early 20s becoming victims, according to NYPD statistics requested by News 4.

From Jan. 1 to July 12, there were 53 children shot versus 37 during the same period last year. The most recent victims included a 1-year-old baby.

Additionally, there have been 215 shooting victims ages 18-24 during the same period this year versus 125 in 2019.

When it comes to young adults ages 25-30, the NYPD statistics show that 223 have been shot this year, compared to 123 during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, 185 adults 31- to 40-years-old were shooting victims from Jan. 1 to July 12 this year, an increase from the 97 victims from this age group seen last year. There were also 91 victims ages 41-59 during the same period this year, an increase from the 67 seen during the same period last year.

Adults 60-years-old and older have also been victims of gun violence. According to the NYPD, from Jan. 1 to July 12, 10 adults in this age group were victims of gun violence, compared to the seven seen last year during the same period.

Overall, in a little over seven months, from Jan 1. to July 12 of this year, there have been 115 fatal shooting victims and 662 non-fatal shooting victims. This is an increase from the 69 shooting deaths and the 387 non-fatal shooting victims seen during the same time period last year, according to the NYPD.

New York City has been grappling with an jaw-dropping increase in gun violence over the past few months.

A 1-year-old was killed and three other people were shot late Sunday night while the family was enjoying a cookout on the sidewalk in Brooklyn. NBC New York's Katherine Creag reports.

In a 24-hour period on Monday, 18 people were wounded in 14 shootings across New York City. The violence came less than 24 hours after another shooting in Brooklyn that claimed the life of a 1-year-old boy and left three others injured.

Mayor Bill de Blasio decried the recent violence in his daily briefing Tuesday, expressing deep condolences particularly for the family of the 1-year-old.

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton appeared on MSNBC Monday morning and discussed the increase in gun violence nationwide, particularly in the Big Apple.

According to Bratton, crime is going to get worse because “so much of what we depended on to deal with the crime virus has been taken away,” adding “the key to crime control is the idea of dealing with the prevention focused on crime and disorder. We have basically given up on disorder in terms of enforcing social  norms of behavior on our streets.”

Bratton went on to say “we're in an Etch-a-Sketch moment. The last 30 years of crime reduction, things that worked, we're getting rid of them and now we're going to try to reinvent many of the things that we already know worked while we try to correct those that we know did not work.”

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