The New York Police Department will team up with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to combat gun violence in the city, the mayor announced on Tuesday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called it an “unprecedented” partnership between local enforcement and the federal agency in charge of firearms as the city deals with an uptick in violent gun crimes across NYC.

“Everyone agrees the number one issue is guns, getting the guns off our streets, and we all know that the proliferation of guns during the pandemic was unprecedented and troubling,” the mayor said at his daily press briefing. “Therefore, we have to double down on getting guns off our streets.”

Through Sunday, there have been 602 shooting incidents involving 687 victims in New York City this year, compared to 358 shooting incidents involving 409 victims during the same time frame last year, according to NYPD data.

The partnership will enable ATF agents to embed directly in the NYPD, and NYPD intelligence detectives within the ATF’s gun-tracing team will be designated as federal agents, the mayor said.

“It takes the ability to quickly act. That can only happen when the federal government and the NYPD are working literally side by side here in New York City,” he said. “This is an important and exciting moment for this city as we fight back.”

The effort will be housed in the Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC), which will provide evidence-based technology to provide law enforcement officials to develop and evolve violent gun reduction strategies, according to officials.

“Your NYC CGIC seeks to identify and disrupt [the firearm] supply chain and ultimately the marketplace in order to prevent that diversion of firearms to our New York City streets, corners and back alleys,” said John DeVito, special agent in charge of the ATF NY field division.

The intelligence center will allow for a seamless flow of information, allowing law enforcement to get to the sources of guns used in violent crimes, officials said. 

“It's not a matter of 'if,' but 'when' we will come calling," said DeVito, about violent offenders.

Officials said this flow of information will also assist in prosecution efforts.

“Every gun tells a story, every bullet tells a story, every shell casing tells a story, and ATF technology helps us bring that all together,” said John Miller, deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism at the NYPD.