Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYPD: NYC shootings dropped, but major crime increased last month
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jun 3, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Steve Sanchez/Pacific Press/Shutterstock
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jun 3, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The number of shootings dropped in the city last month compared to May 2021, according to NYPD data released Friday. Overall, major crime in the city increased last month.
There were 118 recorded shooting incidents in May this year, compared to 172 in the same month last year, according to NYPD data, translating to a 31.4% decrease. The number is still double that of pre-pandemic levels, when 61 shootings were recorded in May 2019.
The NYPD attributes the decline to the Neighborhood Safety Teams, tasked with taking guns off the street. The department claims the teams have seized 105 firearms and made 115 gun arrests since they were established in March.
“We have pointed every resource we have at reducing gun violence in this city,” Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a prepared statement. “We have seen seven straight weeks of shootings going down – and that is not a coincidence.”
The recent downward trend in shooting incidents comes as Mayor Eric Adams — who ran on a pledge to reduce crime — has doubled down on gun violence prevention. This week he appointed long-time community activist Andre T. Mitchell as the city’s “gun violence prevention czar.” Mitchell will meet with Sewell and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III on a weekly basis to develop recommendations on how city agencies can better help neighborhoods impacted by gun violence.
Major crimes were up 27.8% last month compared to the same month last year, according to police data. There was a 42.1% increase in grand larceny, 28.3% rise in burglary and a 26.2% spike in robbery.
The continued increase in crime also comes as the city nears the summer months, generally a time when violent crime rises. In April, Adams told Politico that the city will “continue to see improvements before the summer months, when we traditionally see an increase in crime.”
Tagged
nypd
eric adams
Catalina Gonella
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man found dead, police say, and injured woman is his mother, neighbors say
Police are investigating a related incident in which a 62-year-old woman was found injured beneath the Van Wyck Expressway.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 7:39 p.m. ET
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
News
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .