State officials say shooting incidents decreased in New Jersey during 2023.

For the first time in 15 years there were fewer than 1,000 shootings in the state, with 924 being the final number, officials said. Those shootings also only resulted in 191 deaths, a significant amount less than the 1,059 victims in 2022.

Officials credited several factors for the decline, including a ban on ghost guns, the use of civil lawsuits against gun dealers, new policing strategies and the work of the gun violence reduction task force.

"Over the past year together we have saved a historic number of lives from gun violence in New Jersey,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “That means more families have remained intact. More children will be able to grow up and live up to their full potential."

State officials also say violent crime is down in Trenton, Newark and Paterson.