Shootings rose in Brooklyn in August, according to NYPD statistics, breaking a monthslong streak of declining rates of gun violence.
In the 28-day period from Aug. 4-31, shootings across Kings County rose 16%, from 18 during the same period last year to 21. The number of shooting victims jumped 122%, data show, with 40 people injured by gunshots in August alone.
Until August, shootings in Brooklyn and across the five boroughs had declined every month in 2025. Through the first eight months of the year, New York City saw a record-low number of shootings, NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday.
Officials have attributed the decline to the city’s Summer Violence Reduction Plan, which saw more cops deployed to high-crime areas, and to gang-related arrests. Shootings were down 50% in neighborhoods that were part of the summer Violence Reduction Plan, per the NYPD, and other major crimes were down 19%.
The most high-profile incident in Brooklyn came in the early hours of Aug. 17, when multiple gunmen — at least two of whom were believed to have been gang members — opened fire in a Crown Heights lounge, killing three people and injuring nine more.
Brooklyn also saw a number of smaller-scale shootings last month. On Aug. 4, three people were shot and wounded in East Flatbush. On Aug. 12, police shot and wounded a man who allegedly fired multiple shots near a Prospect Park South apartment building.
Officers later claimed that suspect had been out on parole after multiple arrests.
Other incidents Cypress Hills left a 23-year-old man dead on the street and a 27-year-old seriously wounded in Bushwick.
While shootings rose in August, gun violence in Brooklyn is still down roughly 14% year-to-date.
Major felonies continue to drop
Outside of gun violence, the rate of major felonies in Brooklyn dropped slightly — 1.4% — in August, statistics show, with a total of 2,449 incidents reported from Aug. 4-31 compared to 2,483 during the same period last year.
Murder, assault, grand larceny auto and burglary were all down across Brooklyn during that period.
But grand larceny and robbery rose for the second consecutive month. Rape also jumped by 50% across the borough, with a total of 42 rapes reported during the 28-day span; non-rape sex crimes jumped by 10%. Transit crime was up just under 3%, though transit crime across the city was down by nearly one-quarter, and transit crime is at some of its lowest-ever levels.
Mayor Eric Adams said that despite the “tremendous steps” the city has taken with regard to safety, “we know that one crime is still one crime too many.”
“We see so much promise in New York City, and it is readily apparent that our public safety plan is working,” he said. “We will continue to make adjustments as we see spikes, but thanks to the brave men and women of the NYPD, New York continues to be America’s safest big city.”
