Nassau County reported a 56% decline in shooting crimes during the first seven months of the year, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul, which comes in tandem with a drop in major crimes countywide.
“Through a combination of intelligence-led policing and thorough investigations by our Detective Division, the men and women of the NCPD work tirelessly every day to take illegal guns off our streets” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said. “This dramatic drop in shootings is the result of our strong commitment to ensuring dangerous criminals do not have access to firearms. Our approach is multi-faceted: from alert patrol cops to our Gun Suppression Unit detectives working together to protect the people of Nassau County from gun violence.”
Data was pulled only from police departments participating in the state’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative – a statewide program that aids local police departments through strategies to reduce gun violence.
The state initiative program includes 28 police departments from 21 counties. These departments cover the majority of the state’s population outside of New York City.
The state provided shooting crime data broken down into three categories: shooting incidents involving injury, shooting victims and individuals killed by gun violence.
Through the end of July, Nassau County police reported four shooting incidents, nine shooting victims and no gun-related deaths. In 2023 during the same seven-month period, nine shooting incidents were reported, 15 shooting victims and one death by firearm, according to the state’s data.
The county’s five-year average is 13 shooting incidents, 16 shooting victims and three individuals killed by gun violence, according to state data.
Despite the drop in the first seven months, multiple shooting incidents were reported in the week after the report was released.
This included a suspected murder-suicide in Syosset Sunday where police said a man shot and killed four of his family members in the home of his recently deceased mother and then shot himself in the chest and died on the front lawn.
Another shooting was reported in Syosset Tuesday when a man was shot in the face. The victim was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition. Police say the investigation is ongoing.
The declining trend prevailed throughout the state, according to Hochul, with a 29% drop in the first seven months compared to the same period in 2023.
Statewide from the participating departments, 352 shooting incidents were reported with injuries through July. During the first seven months of 2023, 497 incidents were reported.
The state also reported a 21% decline in shooting-related deaths from the participating departments. In the first seven months of this year 70 deaths were reported compared to 89 in the same time period during 2024.
Other police departments that reported drops in shooting crimes include neighboring Suffolk County with a 50% decline, Yonkers with a 57% drop, Rochester with a 35% drop and Syracuse declining by 30%.
The New York City Police Department, which does not participate in the state initiative, reported an 11% drop in shootings through July compared to the same time period in 2023. In 2024, 530 shootings were reported through the end of July whereas 595 were reported through July in 2023.
Hochul touted the $347 million included in the 2024-2025 state budget aimed at reducing gun violence. This includes $36 million for the Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority,” Hochul said. “Our comprehensive efforts to bring down gun violence are working – and I’ll never stop fighting to ensure safe communities all across our state.”
This story was updated on Aug. 28 with a statement from Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. The version of this story printed in the Aug. 29 newspaper does not include this statement as it was not provided before our print deadline.
