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Subway stabbings surge in NYC, residents on edge
In New York City, people are on edge and on alert after multiple subway stabbings this week. FOX 5 NY’s Kendall Green has the latest from the Pelham Parkway station in the Bronx where an MTA worker was stabbed on Thursday.
NEW YORK CITY - New York City crime news once again dominated headlines throughout 2024, with stories involving shootings and stabbings on the streets and the subways.
JUMP TO: 2024 CRIME STATS l TOP 2024 CRIME STORIES
But what do NYPD statistics show? Were crime numbers up or down last year in NYC?
NYC crime stats: 2023-2024
According to NYPD statistics, overall crime was down in New York City in 2024 by around 3% compared to 2023, year to date.
Murders were down 3.8%, with 375 this past year as opposed to 390 in 2023. Robberies and burglaries also saw decreases.
"While there were thousands fewer victims of major crimes—including shootings, murders, robberies, and other violent acts—in 2024, there is still much more work to be done to keep New Yorkers safe, to make them feel safe, and to improve their overall quality of life in the year ahead," Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
It wasn't all good news, however. The city saw an 18.7% increase in rapes and a 4.9% increase in felony assaults.
On the subway and mass transit, felony assaults were up 65% from 2019 to 2024, according to the MTA. In 2019, 374 felony assaults were reported, while in 2024, 579 were reported.
"I don't know what to say. It's just always violence," one straphanger recently told FOX 5 NY.
But the NYPD says "2024 was the second consecutive year of index crime decline within the nation’s largest subway system, with a 5.4% reduction."
Top crime stories of 2024
Here are some of the 2024 crime stories that made headlines in New York City:
- Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in early December outside a midtown Manhattan hotel in what police called a "brazen, targeted" attack. Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting Thompson, pleaded not guilty last month to state murder and terror charges.
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder, weapons charges
Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month in New York City, pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder and terror charges in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution.
- Also in December, a woman was set on fire and killed on a subway train in Brooklyn. Sebastian Zapeta was charged with murder in the death of Debrina Kawam.
Woman set on fire in NYC subway identified as 57-year-old from NJ: Details
The woman burned to death on an F train in Brooklyn has been as a 57-year-old a resident of Toms River, NJ.
- Back in March, NYPD officer Jonathan Diller was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Queens. The gunman was identified as Guy Rivera.
Jonathan Diller, NYPD officer killed in Queens, leaves behind wife, 1-year-old
Jonathan Diller, the NYPD officer shot and killed during a traffic stop in Queens, leaves behind a wife and a one-year-old son "who will now grow up without his father."
To read more New York City crime stories in 2024, click HERE.
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