The number of juveniles shot in New York City has surged 15% percent so far this year over last, and has skyrocketed 67% compared to pre-pandemic 2018, according to NYPD data.
The number of teen shooters declined by 5% this year so far over last, but rose a dramatic 114% since 2018.
At this point in 2018, there were 14 juvenile shooting victims compared to 30 so far in 2025. There were 10 juvenile shooters compared to 18 in those years, respectively, the data through April 20 show.
The teen victims so far this year include Juan Jose Pena, an 18-year-old hoping to join the Navy who was gunned down around 1:25 a.m. Feb. 2 on Park Avenue near East 176th Street in the Bronx, police said.
Since his death, his heartbroken mother has taken her three remaining children and fled to the Dominican Republic, his aunt Shery Olivo told The Post.
“She does not want to come back,” Olivo said. “She still has three children to take care of. She does not think they are safe here.”
A 17-year-old was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in Pena’s death, police said. Cops were hunting for two additional suspects, police said.
Pena, who had no criminal history, had just texted his mother he was on his way home moments before he was cut down, the family said.
“My nephew died 10 months ago and he did nothing wrong,” the aunt said. “The person who killed my nephew is still out there in the streets, maybe committing another crime and getting away with it while my sister is crying every single day. I don’t think they are doing enough.”
Oliva is alarmed about the number of teens being gunned down and carryng guns in the city, she said.
“When is this going to end?” she asked. “What are the elected officials doing? Don’t they care about what’s going on in the city. This is bad . . . it’s getting worse. We don’t have law and order anymore.”
To mom Yanely Henriquez, the sick statistics brings back the pain she suffered when her 16-year-old honor student daughter, Angellyh Yambo, was fatally shot in 2022 by 17-year-old Jeremiah Ryan in the Bronx.
“It’s unfortunate because it is going to continue to happen every day,” she told The Post this week. “The elected officials should be doing more. This is alarming. It means more kids are going to die just like my daughter.”
She would like to take her children and move away too but she wants to stay close to her daughter’s grave.
“I wish I could take my kids and go somewhere else but due to my daughter being buried here, I’m stuck here,” she said. “I don’t want to stay in New York. My daughter and I were going to move to Florida but we are stuck here, she is buried here.”
She said kids today don’t respect the law.
“I worry when my children go outside,” she said. “I’m always calling. . . it’s a constant battle. That is something I have to live with for the rest of my life.”
Retired NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Youth Strategies Kevin O’Connor believes Raise the Age legislation that prevents courts from charging suspects under 18 as adults is a major contributor to the increase in shootings among youth.
“Youth crime in NYC is only down 4% compared to last year,” while overall crime is down 18%, he said. “It’s basically flat. It’s all because of ‘Raise the Age.’ Nobody’s being prosecuted in the juvenile world.”
The “Raise the Age” law mandates minors caught with firearms appear in Family Court. Before the law changed, 16- and 17-year-olds were arraigned in criminal court and many of them ended up jailed on Rikers Island.
Part of the problem is that judges aren’t clued in on a teen’s prior charges, which has led to rampant recidivism, said O’Connor.
“The judges can’t see prior history when a kid is brought before them,” O’Connor said.
“You need to empower the judge to make a full determination on the kid in front of them, which they cannot do right now,” he said. “Then, they can actually save this kid from becoming a career criminal.”
