Introduction
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NYC Gun Violence Insights Dashboard
This dashboard offers an exploration of historical gun violence data across New York City. Built for both community members and policy professionals, it aims to shed light on where, when, and how shootings occur — and who is most impacted.
🔎 Key Focus Areas
- Trends: Analyze incidents by year
- Geography: Borough-level breakdowns
- Time: Peak times & days of shootings
- Demographics: Victim & perpetrator profiles
🗽 Understanding Gun Violence in NYC
Welcome to the NYC Shooting Incident Dashboard
This data tool visualizes trends in firearm-related incidents across New York City, using historical records from the NYPD. Our goal is to support public awareness, policymaking, and community engagement by identifying where, when, and whom gun violence affects most.
- 📈 Track yearly fluctuations and emerging patterns
- 🌍 Explore geographic disparities across boroughs
- ⏰ Detect peak days and times for gun violence
- 👥 Understand the demographics of victims and perpetrators
Use the tabs above to navigate key insights.
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📌 Key Questions
- Where are the most shootings occurring?
- Are incidents rising or falling in recent years?
- What time of day sees the most gun violence?
- Who is being affected — and who is responsible?
🧭 About This Dashboard
- Data Source: NYPD Shooting Incident Historic Data
- Coverage: 2006–Present
- Created by: Romulo Jimenez.
- Built with: R, flexdashboard, ggplot2, dplyr
Number of Shootings by Year
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What this chart shows:
Total number of shootings per year in NYC.
Why this is interesting:
This bar chart presents the annual count of shootings in NYC over a range of years, illustrating the overall trend in gun violence. The graph shows that the number of shootings was relatively high in the mid-to-late 2000s, then declined gradually through the mid-2010s, before experiencing a noticeable spike around 2020. This resurgence may correlate with broader societal events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic strain, or shifts in policing. The visualization provides a powerful overview of long-term trends and helps evaluate the impact of public safety policies over time.
Key insights:
2020 shows a dramatic rise, possibly due to pandemic-related pressures
Declines may correspond to targeted intervention programs
Shootings by Borough
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What this chart shows:
Share of total shootings by borough.
Why this is interesting:
This chart compares the total number of shootings across New York City’s five boroughs. Brooklyn and the Bronx stand out with the highest numbers of incidents, followed by Queens, Manhattan, and lastly Staten Island. This unequal distribution suggests that some communities face significantly more gun violence than others, reflecting broader socioeconomic and historical disparities. The chart serves as a compelling visual for discussions about targeted investment in violence prevention, youth programs, and public safety infrastructure in the most impacted boroughs.
Key insights:
Brooklyn and Bronx have consistently higher percentages
Highlights communities needing targeted safety resources
Heatmap of Shootings by Day and Hour
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What this chart shows:
Frequency of shootings by day of the week and hour.
Why this is interesting:
This heatmap visualizes the intensity of shootings across the days of the week and hours of the day. The x-axis represents the day of the week, while the y-axis shows the hour (in 24-hour format). Darker red tones indicate a higher number of shooting incidents. A notable concentration of incidents occurs around midnight, especially on Saturday and Sunday, suggesting that weekends and late-night hours are particularly high-risk periods for gun violence. This type of analysis is valuable for planning police patrols and community interventions targeting peak times.
Key insights:
Highest incidents occur late at night on weekends
Suggests policy focus on night patrols and nightlife zones
Map of Shooting Incidents
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What this chart shows:
Geospatial distribution of shooting incidents in NYC.
Why this is interesting:
This scatter plot uses geographic coordinates (longitude and latitude) to map where shooting incidents have occurred across New York City. The dense clusters of green dots show that shootings are not evenly distributed geographically — instead, they are concentrated in specific areas, particularly in parts of Brooklyn, the Bronx, and lower Manhattan. This spatial visualization is essential for understanding neighborhood-level risk and can inform decisions on resource allocation, local engagement strategies, and targeted crime prevention programs.
Key insights:
Brooklyn and Bronx show denser incident clustering
Map supports geographic prioritization of interventions
Victim Age Group Distribution
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What this chart shows:
Age breakdown of shooting victims.
Why this is interesting:
This horizontal bar chart categorizes shooting victims by age group. The largest victim groups are ages 18–24 and 25–44, highlighting that gun violence disproportionately affects young and middle-aged adults. Smaller bars for victims under 18 and over 65 indicate less frequent involvement, although these cases still represent significant community trauma. The chart includes an “UNKNOWN” category, suggesting some data may be incomplete. Overall, this visualization is crucial for tailoring public health interventions and youth engagement strategies to the most vulnerable age demographics.
Key insights:
Adults aged 18–44 are most frequently affected
Youth-focused outreach and education can reduce incidents
Perpetrator Gender Distribution
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What this chart shows:
Gender distribution of identified perpetrators.
Why this is interesting:
This bar chart shows the gender breakdown of known shooting perpetrators. The overwhelming majority are male, shown in blue, with a small number identified as female (red), and some categorized as unknown (orange). The dominance of male perpetrators is consistent with national crime data and underscores the need for gender-specific prevention and education programs, particularly targeting young men in at-risk communities. The inclusion of unknown cases also highlights gaps in law enforcement data collection or reporting.
Key insights:
Males overwhelmingly make up known shooters
Reinforces long-standing national criminal trends