NYC homicides and shootings drop to record lows so far in 2025, officials say

New York City has so far this year recorded its fewest homicides and shootings in decades as police say they’re focused on removing guns from the streets and using data to improve officer deployments, according to new data from the city.

Through May, there were 264 shootings citywide, down from the previous record low of 267 by the same point in 2018, Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. There were 112 killings through May, the lowest on record, compared to 113 in the same period in 2017 and 2014.

The announcement comes as recent reporting and polling shows crime remains a top concern for New Yorkers, despite fewer major crimes overall. Gothamist previously found many residents are worried about their safety due to a sense of disorder in public spaces that’s tied to a 10-year high in crime complaints fueled by lower-level incidents. A survey by Emerson College Polling, PIX 11 and the Hill last week found crime was the third-most-important issue for New York City voters, only behind housing affordability and the economy.

The improving statistics also come as Adams seeks reelection as an independent in the November general election and as public safety has emerged as a key issue in the crowded mayoral race. Party primary elections — in which Adams is not running — are scheduled for June 24, with early voting starting June 14.

“These numbers represent thousands of New Yorkers who are alive today and safer today, families who can sleep more soundly at night, and communities that are thriving because they know their city isn’t just coming back from the throes of the pandemic — it is back,” Adams said in a statement. He added that police have recovered more than 22,000 illegal guns since he took office in January 2022.

Homicides and shootings have also declined significantly across the city since last year, NYPD data shows. There were 107 killings as of May 25, down nearly 30% from 150 during the same timeframe in 2024. Shootings decreased almost 20%, to 253 from 312. Still, the data shows both of those crime categories have at least doubled in the NYPD’s Queens North patrol area, which covers a large swath of the borough.

Tisch credited aggressive enforcement against illegal firearms — as well as “a data-driven policing strategy that puts more cops in the right places at the right times” — for the overall reduction in shootings and homicides.

“Results like this never happen by accident, and certainly not at a time when the state’s criminal justice laws have made a revolving door out of our criminal justice system,” she said in a statement. “We will not let up.”

She said the NYPD was implementing its safety initiative for the summer, when experts say violence typically spikes due to warmer weather and people gathering in larger groups outside.