NYC Mayor Adams likens flow of guns to ‘terrorist threat’ akin to 9/11 response
Mayor Eric Adams invoked the federal government’s response to 9/11 as a starting point to how leaders should now approach stemming the “terror” gun violence has created in the city and New York State.
Adams, who appeared remotely at a news briefing convened by Gov. Hochul, praised the governor after her announcement that the state would partner with other states, as well as federal and local authorities, to gather, analyze and share intelligence on how guns are getting into New York.
“It is time for us to use the same abilities that we displayed during Sept. 11 to stop the external terrorist threat. We are going to use that with the terror of gun violence that’s sweeping our entire nation,” he said. “We must be unified on this threat. And I am happy to have a governor who has acknowledged the importance of this moment.”
The new Multi-State Gun Intelligence Consortium, which held its first meeting after the announcement, will focus on stopping gun trafficking within the state and across state lines.
The task force comes in response to a wave of gun violence that’s swept through the Big Apple since COVID first hit the city in March 2020, and more recently, to a spate of shootings that left two NYPD cops dead after a Harlem shoot-out and an 11-month old hospitalized after being shot in the face in the Bronx.
Adams suggested that part of what has been lacking in response to gun violence is a lack of coordination, not just between various levels of government and their agencies, but with private sector interests such as social media companies.
“We are failing to move with the level of urgency that we did in other crises. Our entire country mobilized against the COVID threat to make sure it did not continue to spread,” he said. “That’s the same level of intelligence that we must use to end the pandemic of gun violence.”
He then noted that government must “muster the strength of our social media corporations” as well as seek support from medical facilities and the education system to tackle gun violence. Exactly how he intends to do that remains unclear, though. A request to the mayor’s office for more specifics was not immediately answered.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, supported the police department’s efforts to get guns off the streets and reiterated his belief that while cops in the city and the state “are doing their job,” it’s not enough for only law enforcement to assume responsibility.
“We removed 6,000 guns off the streets in New York City in 2021. Over 300 guns were removed during my first few weeks in office,” he said. “They can’t do this alone. We cannot continue to lose 22-year-old children because of the failure of the other partners in this fight against gun violence.”
Adams did not explicitly say which partners have failed, but he has demanded in recent days that state lawmakers revisit bail reforms enacted in recent years as one way to attack gun violence. He has also called on the state to allow judges to set bail based on their assessment of how dangerous the defendant is.
“Today, we are acknowledging we’re going to do our share,” he said. “Now it’s time for government and all other entities to do their share.”
