Youth violence has skyrocketed within the Massive Apple over the previous couple of years, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch mentioned Tuesday — as she positioned the blame on the state’s contentious “Increase the Age” regulation.
The variety of children below the age of 18 busted with a gun elevated by a whopping 136% between 2018 and 2024, the highest cop mentioned alongside Mayor Eric Adams at against the law stats briefing held at Metropolis Corridor.
Over the identical interval, Tisch mentioned the variety of underage shooters soared 192%, whereas the variety of juvenile victims of gun violence spiked by 81%.
“I’ve seen sufficient,” Tisch mentioned of the surging youth crime, whereas pointing the finger at Albany’s soft-on-crime regulation that raised the age of prison duty to 18.
The NYPD couldn’t instantly present the precise numbers tied to the share will increase cited by the commissioner.
However up to now in 2025, 36 — or 14% — of suspected shooters within the 5 boroughs have been below the age of 18, she mentioned.
And 44 capturing victims — additionally 14% — had been below the age of 18 up to now this 12 months, in accordance with Tisch.
She mentioned the spike was a results of Increase the Age, which was signed by then-governor – and now mayoral candidate – Andrew Cuomo on April 10, 2017, and took impact in October 2019.
The regulation upped the age for a teen to face grownup fees to 18, from the earlier 16- and 17-year-old threshold.
“The thought behind this was one which we may all agree on: youngsters shouldn’t be handled like adults in our prison justice system,” Tisch mentioned.
“However when the age of prison duty went up, the age of prison suspects went down.”
Gangs and crews are actually recruiting ever-younger members – who “carry the weapons and commit the shootings, the robberies and the assaults” – as a way to evade critical penalties, in accordance with the commissioner.
“Severely dangerous issues come from a consequence-free setting, and proper now juveniles who commit crimes in New York Metropolis reside in a nearly consequence-free setting,” she mentioned.
Tisch’s feedback got here every week after a 13-year-old boy was busted within the homicide of an harmless 28-year-old plumber’s apprentice from Yonkers who was merely assembly his out-of-town pal within the Bronx when he was shot useless.
The teenager turned himself in on Might 27 to face fees of second-degree homicide, first-degree manslaughter and prison use of a firearm within the broad-daylight April 23 capturing loss of life of bystander Daoud Marji, police mentioned.
It was a part of the troubling development outlined by Tisch that more and more exhibits children turning into each the perpetrators — and victims — of gun violence.
Earlier in Might, Evette Jeffrey, a 16-year-old lady driving her scooter close to a schoolyard was shot within the head and killed by a stray bullet — which was fired by a 14-year-old who was handed a gun by a 13-year-old, in accordance with cops.
The tragic Might 12 capturing stemmed from a beef between rival road gangs — Forest Over All the pieces and the upstart crew Kreep On Davidson — based mostly on the Davidson Homes housing venture in Morrisania, in accordance with NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
“She was an harmless bystander who was merely making an attempt to take cowl behind the brick wall and was struck within the head by one of many rounds,” Kenny mentioned on the time concerning the younger sufferer.
“The sufferer, Evette Jeffrey, was not concerned on this dispute.”
Tisch’s startling feedback got here as she and Adams introduced a extra promising crime development — a dip in capturing and murders up to now this 12 months.
From January by Might, the Massive Apple noticed the bottom variety of shootings and murders in recorded historical past, statistics present.
The town additionally set a report for the bottom variety of shootings and murders within the month of Might, the officers mentioned.
The mayor and high cop additionally touted the NYPD’s seizure of greater than 2,200 unlawful firearms from the streets because the starting of 2025.
