President Donald Trump’s administration has cut more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs, according to a new report.
The Justice Department slashed 69 community violence intervention grants in April, ending more than $158 million in funding, Reuters reports. These grants were directed to several cities throughout the U.S., including Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.
The grants helped fund several programs that work to prevent gun violence. These included training outreach teams to de-escalate conflict, social workers to connect people with key services, and programs for hospitalized gun violence victims, Reuters reports.
These cuts are preventing some community organizations from “doing the work in service of those that need it the most at the most urgent, and deadliest time of the year,” Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of community safety initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety, told Reuters
Last year, the U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis.
More than 44,000 people died from firearm-related injuries in the U.S. in 2024, according to new provisional CDC data reviewed by The Trace, a media outlet dedicated to reporting on gun violence. This is is down from 2023, during which more than 47,000 people died of gun-related injuries in the U.S.
These community violence intervention grant cuts were part of a broader rollback. The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs terminated a total of 365 grants in April, slashing more than $811 million in funding for public safety and victim justice programs, Reuters reports.
Smaller cities in the southern U.S. have also been impacted by the cuts. Cities like Memphis and Baton Rouge were more reliant on these federal grants due to limited state support, according to Reuters.
"Very few state legislatures are passing funding right now, that's why the federal cuts were such a tragic hit," Amber Goodwin, co-founder of Community Violence Legal Network, told Reuters.
Eighteen law enforcement groups and police chiefs from Louisville, Minneapolis, Omaha and Tucson are also speaking out. The group has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to reinstate funding that created “measurable and significant reductions in violence and homicides,” Reuters reports.
"These aren't feel-good programs; they’re lifesaving, law-enforcement-enhancing strategies that work," the group wrote.
A Justice Department official told Reuters the grants were cut because they “no longer effectuate the program’s goals or agency’s priorities.” Thousands of grants at the office are under review, the official noted.
The Independent has contacted the Justice Department for comment.
More than half the reported gun homicides in the U.S. happened in just 42 cities, according to an analysis of 2023 data by Everytown for Gun Safety. The list includes all of the major U.S. cities which were impacted by the April funding cuts.
New York saw yet another shooting on Monday, when a gunman targeted a Manhattan skyscraper. Shane Tamura, 27, stormed the office building at 345 Park Avenue shortly before 6:30 p.m., “spraying” the lobby with bullets from an AR-15-style rifle, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Four people are dead, including a New York City Police Department officer and an executive at Blackstone.
Chicago residents grieved earlier this month after a gunman carried out a mass shooting outside a nightclub, killing four people and injuring 14 more. A shooting in Washington, D.C. also made national headlines in June after a group of gunmen fatally shot Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old Congressional intern. Police said he was hit by a stray bullet and not the intended target.
Appeals court says California law requiring background checks for ammunition is unconstitutional
Gaza latest: Israel given ultimatum by Starmer over UK recognising Palestine state
Pete Buttigieg pins down reason Democrats lost to Trump in 2024
Trump hits out at Starmer over taxes hours after their meeting in Scotland
