Governor Kathy Hochul announced a decline in gun violence across New York State. Shooting incidents involving injury dropped by 60 percent in the 28 communities participating in the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative since 2021. According to recent data, the first eleven months of 2025 recorded the lowest number of such incidents since 2006, when the state began tracking these statistics. Officials attribute this decline to increased investments in public safety and targeted law enforcement strategies. Cities such as Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse reported double-digit decreases in shootings with injury compared to the same period last year.
From January to November 2025, GIVE communities reported 477 shooting incidents with injury. This is a 15 percent reduction from the 558 incidents during the same months in 2024. The number of people shot fell by 21 percent, from 689 to 547. Gun violence-related deaths dropped from 116 to 87, a decrease of 29 fatalities. Albany saw a 47 percent decrease in shooting incidents with injury and a 44 percent reduction in shooting victims.
Governor Hochul said these results are linked to her administration’s public safety efforts. The state has invested more than $3 billion in public safety and doubled annual funding for the GIVE initiative. The program now provides $36 million in state funding for equipment, overtime, personnel, and specialized training to police departments and county law enforcement partners. These agencies handle most violent crimes involving firearms outside New York City…