The New York City Police Department racked up more gun busts last week than any other week in the last 25 years.
“We hit a 25-year high in gun arrests last week, the most gun arrests we’ve made in a week in 25 years,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced Tuesday, according to the New York Post.
Police data shows 160 gun arrests were logged between Aug. 31 and Sept. 6, which was not only a 25-year high but double the amount of gun arrests during the same week last year.
“160 gun arrests last week and another 37 gun arrests yesterday, all without a single shot being fired by police,” Shea tweeted. “Your cops are out there, committed to the safety of ALL NYers. Arrests like these are just one part of the criminal justice system.”
160 gun arrests last week and another 37 gun arrests yesterday, all without a single shot being fired by police. Your cops are out there, committed to the safety of ALL NYers.
Arrests like these are just one part of the criminal justice system. pic.twitter.com/K7UWZvhxA3
— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) September 8, 2020
Shootings in New York City have skyrocketed over the past few months, and the total number of shootings in 2020 eclipsed 1,000 on Aug. 30, compared to 776 shot during the entire year in 2019.
In August, nearly 50 people were shot in a 72-hour period.
“Now, the genesis of the crime you can have a great debate about, but the Trump economy, Trump not providing COVID relief, the George Floyd murder, Trump’s response to the George Floyd murder, race relations stress, Trump, there are good people on both sides, Ku Klux Klan,” New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said about the crime surge in August. He was referring to the widely debunked talking point that President Trump referred to neo-Nazis as “very fine people.”
“So, I think Trump has some liability for the increase in the crime,” Cuomo added.
Trump has actively denounced New York City leaders for the spike in crime and has suggested that the surge could help him become the first Republican to carry New York in a general election since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
