'Besieged By Gunfire,' 11 Suffolk Communities To Get ShotSpotter

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — The funding to restore the ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology approved by Suffolk lawmakers Tuesday will make it possible for installation in 11 communities experiencing over 50 percent of the gun violence in the county, District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Tierney said that the technology will be installed in the communities of Huntington Station, North Amityville, Wyandanch, Brentwood, Bay Shore, Central Islip, Coram, Gordon Heights, North Bellport, Shirley, and Mastic Beach where residents "besieged by gunfire at a staggeringly higher rate" than others.

Suffolk is comprised of 2,373 square miles and 22 of those square miles, or less than one percent, are subjected to over 50 percent of the county's gun violence, Tierney said.

ShotSpotter technology allows law enforcement to identify in real-time locations where guns have been fired.

Suffolk used ShotSpotter up until 2019, but in 2020-2021, shooting incidents doubled, according to Tierney's office. In 2021, shootings continued to increase by another 34 percent with 365 incidents — 128 victims were shot and 32 people died, his office said.

"All of our communities deserve to be safe,” he added.

Tierney said that since he took office in January, he has met with mothers who lost their children to gun violence in the very same communities where he has proposed to place the ShotSpotter technology.

"Children should not have to go to sleep to the sound of gunfire," he said. "Mothers should not have to worry that their children will not come home and residents shouldn’t have to worry that a gunfight is going to spill out on to the street before them."

Tierney's office will continue to work with its law enforcement partners, schools, religious institutions, and the business community to safeguard areas most threatened by gun violence. he said, adding that the funding will also allow gang prosecutors and investigators "to go after gang violence in a more coordinated manner."