In New York City, stabbings and slashings surged 26% since 2019, according to new NYPD data obtained by The New York Post.
From January 1st through August 13th, the city has seen 3,365 nonfatal stabbings; that’s up from 2,666 four years ago. The number is also up 5% from the same period last year, which saw 3,208 nonfatal stabbings.
53 people have died by blade, which is a 29% jump from 41 in 2019. The tally is down 23% from 2022, when knives took the lives of 69.
Knives are a popular choice of weapon due to their ability to be easily hidden pretty much until the moment of the attack itself.
In 2019, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law ending criminal prohibition of gravity knives and certain folding pocket knives. Though correlation does not equal causation, some have pointed to that policy as unhelpful.
