NYPD touts record-low shootings in 2025, even after Bronx and Brooklyn mass attacks

The NYPD on Tuesday touted newly released crime statistics that officials say show record-low shootings, despite two mass shootings in August.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said statistics released Sept. 2 show that the Big Apple is experiencing an all-time low in shootings for the first eight months of 2025. From January through August, the department recorded 489 shooting incidents with 611 victims — the lowest in recorded history, next to 2018, when police reported 502 shootings with 612 victims. The NYPD also said overall crime fell 6.7% in August compared with the same month last year.

“In the first eight months of the year, the NYPD drove down shooting incidents and shooting victims to the lowest levels in our city’s history,” Commissioner Tisch said. “Below ground on our subways, we have cut crime down to record lows, excluding the pandemic years. Our focus has been on taking illegal guns off the streets, arresting violent gang members, and deploying our most valuable resource — the men and women of the NYPD — on foot posts where they are most needed, and the results are clear: Our strategy is working, and our cops are driving down crime.”

In August, crime in the subway system dropped 22.4%, with 156 incidents compared with 201 during the same month last year. Police said that figure also marked a record low, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic years.

Still, while top officials highlighted the first eight months of the year, shootings in August rose 4.1%, with 77 incidents compared with 74 in the same month last year. According to NYPD CompStat, the department’s online database, as of Aug. 28, shooting victims were up 11.1% over a 28-day period, with 110 people shot compared with 99 in 2024. Police said much of the violence has been driven by gang activity in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

In that same period, shooting victims in the Bronx’s 47th Precinct rose 150%, while Brooklyn’s 71st Precinct saw a 250% increase.

Commissioner Jessica Tisch.Photo by Dean Moses

One of the gang-related incidents was the Brooklyn mass shooting on Aug. 17 that left three dead and nine injured. On Aug. 23, five people were shot at the Haffen Park basketball courts, leaving one dead and a teenage girl in critical condition.

Citywide, murders in August rose 33.3%, with 28 people killed compared with 21 last year. Rape increased 24%, with 160 incidents compared with 129 in 2024. Police said the rise in sex crimes is linked to legislative changes in September 2024 that broadened the legal definition of rape in New York state to include additional forms of sexual assault.

“While we may have had a tough end to Labor Day weekend, overall shooting incidents and shooting victims are at the lowest levels in recorded history for the first eight months of the year,” the NYPD wrote on X.

Burglary dropped 18.9% in August, with 963 incidents compared with 1,187 a year earlier. Robbery fell 8.2%, with 1,365 incidents compared with 1,487. Felony assault declined 6.6%, with 2,441 attacks compared with 2,614. Housing crime also fell 8.8%, with 485 incidents compared with 532.

Police said this year’s overall decrease in shootings stems from a combination of illegal gun seizures and gang takedowns. The department said it has removed more than 23,445 illegal guns from city streets, including 3,685 in 2025. Detectives have also carried out a record 55 gang-related takedowns this year, arresting 396 gang members and associates.

This eight-month record low comes at a pivotal point for the NYPD as rumors continue to swirl that President Donald Trump is considering a Federal takeover of New York City, similar to that which has been seen in Washington D.C. But with crime largely trending downward, some police sources say Trump would have little justification.

“As August closed, we continued to break more records: shooting incidents and shooting victims for the first eight months of the year were at their lowest levels in recorded history, and crime in our subways in August was at the lowest in recorded history,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “But even with the tremendous steps we’ve taken in making our city safer, we know that one crime is still one crime too many, and a number of heartbreaking incidents remain at the forefront of people’s minds.”

“We see so much promise in New York City, and it is readily apparent that our public safety plan is working,” he went on. “We will continue to make adjustments as we see spikes, but thanks to the brave men and women of the NYPD, New York continues to be America’s safest big city.”

Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed on Wednesday that their efforts to hire more officers amid the NYPD’s staffing crisis is heading in the right direction with the total headcount expected to reach 35,000 by the fall of 2026 following new college credit strategy.Photo by Dean Moses