NYC shootings in 2020 Equals the Total Shootings of the Last Two Years

By Yehudit Garmaise

   The NYPD released statistics on Friday that revealed that the number of shootings in 2020 equals the total shootings of both 2018 and 2019 combined.

    Last year, the NYPD reported, 1,868 people were hit by gunfire, while the combined total shooting victims in 2018 and 2019 was 1,820.

    The city had seen a lower number of shootings in the few years before 2020, however, all five boroughs saw a spike in gun violence in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown restrictions, unemployment, financial woes, and social isolation. 

    Also in 2020, Black Lives Matter protesters demanded the defunding of the police, state bail reform law allowed many suspects to remain free without bail, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo released thousands of prisoners early due to COVID-19.

    Perhaps as a result of Mayor Bill de Blasio cutting $1 billion from the NYPD’s budget after demands from Black Lives Matter, the NYPD disbanded its Street Crimes Unit in June.

   At a press conference in June, the mayor had said that the money would be transferred from the NYPD to the improvement of youth centers and public housing.