The New York City Police Department said the city recorded its lowest numbers on record for shootings, shooting victims and homicides during the first seven months of 2026, while the Bronx showed the largest year-to-date decline in major crime of any borough.
Citywide declines through July
From Jan. 1 through July 31, the NYPD reported 381 shooting incidents, a decrease of about 7.5% compared with the same period last year. The department also logged 462 shooting victims, down roughly 5.5%, and recorded 149 murders, a drop of about 22.8%.
- Major crime fell by 12.7% citywide in July alone, with declines across all seven major crime categories and in every borough.
- Police credited targeted operations, data-driven tactics and efforts to remove illegal firearms for the reductions.
Bronx leads borough reductions
The NYPD said the Bronx experienced the steepest year-to-date fall in major crimes, reporting 15,886 incidents through July compared with 18,153 in the same span of 2025 — a decline of about 12.5%. Specific decreases in the borough included an approximately 18.1% fall in robberies and about a 14.9% drop in grand larceny.
For the month of July alone, major crimes in the Bronx were down about 19% compared with July 2025; the borough also saw a roughly 37% reduction in auto thefts and almost a 24% decline in grand larceny for that month.
Public housing and enforcement activity
The NYPD reported notable declines in public housing as well. In developments managed by the New York City Housing Authority, murders fell about 45% year to date, shooting incidents decreased about 33.3%, and shooting victims dropped around 35.2%.
Police officials said investigators conducted 25 gang-related takedowns so far this year as part of enforcement efforts aimed at disrupting violent networks and removing illegal guns from the streets.
Violence persists in neighborhoods
City officials and law enforcement acknowledged that, despite the overall downward trend, residents continue to experience serious violence. The NYPD cited recent incidents including an 87-year-old woman shot in the face during a double shooting on a Friday and a 50-year-old man who was fatally shot Monday morning in the Van Nest neighborhood.
“So long as there is crime in the Bronx and there is crime in New York City, it means that there is work for us to do,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, adding praise for police while underscoring that more remains to be done.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch attributed the reductions to a combination of the department’s analytical policing strategies, targeted gang enforcement and efforts to remove illegal firearms from the public square.
| Metric | Jan–July 2025 | Jan–July 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shooting incidents (citywide) | — | 381 | −7.5% |
| Shooting victims (citywide) | — | 462 | −5.5% |
| Murders (citywide) | — | 149 | −22.8% |
| Major crime in Bronx | 18,153 | 15,886 | −12.5% |
Officials face the challenge of reconciling broadly improving metrics with persistent, high-profile acts of violence that shape residents’ daily experience. City leaders emphasized continued enforcement, community engagement and removal of illegal guns as priorities while acknowledging the work ahead.
The NYPD said its month-to-month and neighborhood-level strategies will remain in place as data are monitored and enforcement operations continue.
