NYPD has already made 417 firearms arrests this year

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The New York Police Department has already made 417 firearm arrests this year following a violent 2020 that saw a rise in both shootings, and homicides, according to a report. 

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, the city's top cop, said those arrests were a 75% increase over last year's numbers.

Shea made his comments during a webinar hosted by the Police Foundation, where he expressed his concerns about how his officers are making about 16 gun arrests a day, according to the New York Daily News. 

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The NYPD has made 417 firearm arrests this year (NYPD, Dermot Shea)

"I would argue we’re making far too many gun arrests. We shouldn’t have to," Shea told the foundation. "You really must ask yourself, and I think more people need to start asking this, ‘What the h--- is going on with the firearms in New York City this year? What has changed?'"

Shea believes the gun crisis plaguing the Big Apple isn't limited to 2020, which saw officers make 4,280 gun arrests, a 29% jump from 2019. Shooting incidents increased by 754 from the previous year, prompting police to "sharpen their focus" in getting guns off the streets, the paper reported.

Police also investigated 462 homicides across the city last year, an increase of 143 from 2019, officials said.

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Shea made his comments after an unidentified 6 1/2 year veteran with the NYPD was shot in the lower back just below his bullet-resistant vest during a violent clash on Tuesday, authorities said. Police posted a picture of the gun used during the incident on social media. 

"Here is an officer, young officer, out there in the streets in the Bronx getting guns off the streets to save lives," said Mayor Bill de Blasio during a press conference. "That's what he does. He's someone who goes out and puts his life on the line to protect other people in the most powerful way, by depriving criminals of their firearms."

Authorities visited with the unidentified officer at the hospital and he's expected to make a full recovery. 

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"The whole incident last night really just drives home how much we as a city need to continue to do about the flow of illegal firearms into our city — and the real-world consequences or some would say lack thereof, for the criminals who carry and use these firearms with impunity," Shea added, according to the Daily News.