At least 50 young people under the age of 18 have been shot or killed in New York City so far in 2026, according to recent New York Police Department (NYPD) data. The statistics, which cover incidents through the end of June, underscore an ongoing concern about gun violence affecting the city’s youth.

The latest fatality to highlight the issue was 12-year-old Jacob Freytes, who was struck by a stray bullet near a Bronx bodega on July 25. Freytes, the son of a retired NYPD sergeant, had just purchased a ball and was walking outside when he became caught in the crossfire during a street dispute. Video footage showed the boy rushing back inside the store holding his chest before collapsing. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

During the first half of 2026, there were 49 shooting victims under 18 reported by the NYPD, matching the number of suspected shooters who were also minors and thus legally ineligible to vote. While overall shootings involving victims and perpetrators of all ages declined to the lowest level on record for the NYPD in the first six months of the year, the proportion of suspected juvenile shooters has risen significantly in recent years. Youths comprised nearly 22% of those suspected in shootings during the first half of 2026, up from just 8% during the same period in 2018.

The spate of youth-related shootings has extended beyond the Bronx. Just two days before Freytes’s death, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the foot amid what police described as a dispute in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Additionally, a 17-year-old girl was wounded in a shooting on July 20 outside a McDonald’s parking lot in Brooklyn.

Despite the troubling individual events, the total number of shooting incidents involving young victims or shooters in the first half of 2026 represents a decline compared with the same period last year. In the first six months of 2025, there were 57 youth shooting victims and 53 suspected shooters under 18.

The data paints a complex picture, showing a general decrease in gun violence citywide while youth involvement in shootings has become more prominent. Authorities continue to monitor the trends as they work to address the factors contributing to gun-related crimes among young New Yorkers.