While communities across the tri-state area are reporting record lows in shootings and homicides, serious challenges remain.
Earlier this year, New York's top leaders touted major progress in the fight against gun violence.
The NYPD said that 2025 was the safest year on record for shootings. Brooklyn recorded the fewest homicides in borough history.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez credits what he calls a targeted strategy, focusing resources on a relatively small group believed to be responsible for most of the violence.
“It’s about 1% of the population that's responsible for 60% to 70% of the violence,” he says. “Brooklyn has never been safer."
But falling crime numbers don't always reflect how everyday residents feel.
"I think the tide is turning that people are starting to believe that the numbers are coming down and that's because we've gotten a hold of subway crime and some of the shoplifting," says Gonzalez.
While shootings might be down in many local communities, the tri-state continues to feel the devastating impact of gun violence.
The Turn To Tara team analyzed the latest federal data, and it shows that on average, a person is killed every nine hours in New York, every 20 hours in New Jersey and every two days in Connecticut - costing the three states more than $19 billion a year.
It’s been a wake-up call in Westchester County, New York where lawmakers just passed a new gun warning law.
It requires gun dealers to display graphic images showing the risks linked to firearms, including suicide, domestic violence and homicide.
Supporters say the visual warnings could help people make more informed decisions about gun ownership.
“They say a picture is worth 1,000 words,” says Westchester County Legislator David Imamura. “We hope a picture saves a life.”
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