Teen shooters and victims skyrocket since Raise the Age, new data shows

The number of teen gunshot victims and teen shooters has exploded since the state’s controversial Raise the Age Law went into effect in 2018, according to new data obtained by The Post.

As of last week, 92 people under 18 have been shot so far this year –  96% more than the 47 shot in the same period in 2018, the year before the legislation enacted by leftist state pols fully took effect, raising the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18.

The 92 teen shooting victims this year is 21% more than the 76 shot at this point last year, according to NYPD data through Sept. 28.

The number of teen shooters has surged even higher — climbing 143% — with 73 arrested so far this year, compared to 30 in the same span in 2018, and 3% more than the 71 busted in the same period last year, the data show.

Even more troubling is that the shocking surge in teenage gunplay comes as shootings in NYC have dropped 20% overall so far this year compared to 2024, NYPD data show. Shooting incidents overall have fallen by more than 50% since 2020, the data show.

“We need to somehow tweak raise the age so when there’s shooters involved in incidents that they don’t just get a get out of jail free card,” said former NYPD supervisor Chris Hermann, now an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

“We want to see them get remanded longer term for gun related crimes,” Hermann said. “But no politician is going to say ‘Hey, maybe it’s time build a bigger, better juvenile jail.”

Eighteen-year-old Damien Calhoun graphically illustrates the real world impact of the flawed legislation, said former NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kevin O’Connor, who retired in 2023.

Calhoun was involved in a gunfight in NYCHA’s Wagner Houses in East Harlem on Sept. 15 while wearing an ankle monitor for an attempted murder rap last year when he was 17, police said. He copped a plea to attempted murder for the prior crime and was released thanks for Raise the Age. Before the law, he could have been held on bail at Rikers Island jail.

“This case in East Harlem is another poster child of what’s going on,” O’Connor said. “You got an 18-year-old wearing an ankle monitor who pleaded guilty to an attempted murder shooting and he’s out. If he pled guilty, why is he out? It’s because of Raise the Age.

“It’s a complete revolving door,” said O’Connor.

Calhoun and a 15-year-old, who was shot in the mayhem but not identified because of his age, were both arrested after a wild shootout with cops, police said.

The 15-year-old was also no stranger to the criminal justice system. He was charged with attempted murder after he allegedly shot at someone and missed in Harlem on Aug. 12, police sources said. 

The two teens were charged with attempted murder for the shooting, cops and sources said. The older teen was released on $75,000 bail paid by his parents. Another 15-year-old was also shot in the leg in the melee, cops said.

O’Connor said the policy of not identifying the youngest shooters also has to change.

“These are big boy crimes,” he said. “They should be putting the names out. There’s no way to verify if the system’s actually working because they hide everything. You can’t even hold the system accountable because you can’t find the information.”

The teen carnage continued on Sept. 22 when shots rang out outside a Dunkin Donuts in Cambria Heights, Queens, leaving Martin Van Buren High School student Sanjay Samuel, 13, mortally wounded.

Another teenager was arrested in his shooting, police said.

“This is not going to stop,” O’Connor said. “The problem is you just keep releasing these kids until somebody gets killed. They need to start holding these kids accountable.”