By Hank Russell
Governor Kathy Hochul held a press conference on December 9 announcing that shooting incidents with injury in the 28 communities that participate in the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative have dropped 60 percent since she took office in 2021, with the lowest number of incidents with injury reported for the first 11 months of the year since the state began tracking this data in 2006.
Last year, there were 587 shootings involving injury, down 53% from 2021. The number of shooting victims who were injured fell 52% to 723 and the number of those killed declined 48% to 116. In Nassau, 18 shooting incidents involving injury took place in 2024, which is 68% less than three years prior. Twenty-seven people were hit — a 60% decrease. Five people were killed, which is unchanged. Suffolk had 26 incidents (down 68%), the number of shooting victims who were injured was 32, down 66% and five people were killed, which was unchanged from 2021.
When examining year-to-date data, 477 shooting incidents took place so far this year — 15% less than the first eleven months last year. The number of shooting victims (persons hit) was 547, down 21% and 87 were killed by gun violence; that is a 25% decline from last year. Nassau saw 28% fewer incidents involving injury to 13. The number of persons hit dropped 44% to 15 and three people were killed, which was unchanged.
When I came into office, gun violence was surging. Thanks to our record investments in public safety and law enforcement, we are seeing major progress in our ongoing mission to eradicate gun violence from our communities,” Hochul said. “By partnering with more than two dozen police agencies, we are driving down gun crimes to record lows — and I remain laser focused on doing everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe.”
However, in Suffolk, there have been 32 incidents — up 33% — and 35 people have been shot, which is 17% higher than last year. Ten people were killed, which is the same as last year.
Also, when looking at the most recent GIVE data, shooting incidents, injuries and deaths have gone up, statewide and locally. Last month, there were 45 incidents involving injury, up from 43 the previous month and 33 in November 2024. Nassau saw a doubling of incidents from one to two in October and the November from the previous year. The number of incidents in October 2025 and November was two; last month, it was five.
The number of people hit in New York was up from 35 in November 2024 to 45 in October 2025 to 52 in November 2025. The number of shooting incidents quadrupled from one in November 2024 to October 2025 to four last month. Five incidents took place in November of this year, which is up from the previous month (2) and November 2024 (1).
Shooting deaths in New York was up from four in November 2024 to nine in October 2025 to eleven last month. Nassau had one death in November — the first this year since April — whereas October 2025 and November 2024 reported zero deaths. Suffolk also had one death in November; there was also one death the previous month, but no deaths in November 2024.