Mayor Adams says NYPD has removed 3,000 illegal guns from NYC streets so far this year

The NYPD has removed more than 3,000 illegal guns from New York City streets since the beginning of the year, officials announced Sunday.

According to the department, the milestone coincides with a record-low number of shootings. In the first half of 2025, the city recorded the lowest number of shooting victims ever recorded in six months and tied its all-time low for shooting incidents.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the effort, which has led to 22,700 gun seizures since the start of the Adams administration, involves officers across the department.

“We seize them during case takedowns, we seize them in the course of arrests, we seize them when our officers run into gunfire on the streets,” she said at a press conference in the Bronx. “Getting guns off the street is the most dangerous work that our officers do.”

Major crimes also continue to trend downward across the city. According to NYPD data, overall crime dropped 6% in June compared to the same month last year, with decreases in all seven major categories.

Meanwhile, Bronx elected officials called on the federal government to step up efforts to prevent illegal guns from reaching the city.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said loose federal gun laws are partly to blame for gun violence in the borough, where she noted there are no gun shops.

“I encourage my federal partners — and I’ve sat with them — they need to be a part of this as well,” Clark said. “We’re getting the guns and I’m prosecuting statewide, but it’s not only about the shootings and the homicides, that’s bad enough. But a case is the gun, too. Not just the gun possession, but how are they getting here in the Bronx?”

Bronx Assemblymember Chantel Jackson echoed the call for federal intervention.

“New York has some of the toughest gun laws that we’ve created at the state level,” she said. “However, like our D.A. said, they still end up here in the Bronx. We don't own gun shops, so we’re calling on our federal partners to finally do what is necessary to keep our kids safe – we’re asking for you guys to make laws that will keep Bronxites safe.”

Some New York lawmakers in Congress have also been pushing for federal action.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has demanded updates on a gun trafficking law she helped pass in 2022, which she said has already taken thousands of illegal guns off the streets. And U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman has introduced legislation to close background check loopholes and improve federal tracking of guns.

Federal gun regulations have loosened in recent years.

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key provision of New York’s concealed carry law, making it easier to bring licensed firearms into public spaces. And earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at rolling back gun safety reforms enacted under former President Joe Biden.