Biden announces new actions as gun violence surges across U.S.

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States on Jan. 24, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The Biden administration will crack down on illegal flow of guns, help prosecutors bring cases against those using "ghost guns" -- unserialized and untraceable firearms -- to commit crimes, and pursue unlawful gun sellers, among other things, according to the White House.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a new set of actions aimed at reducing gun violence across the country.

The Biden administration will crack down on illegal flow of guns, help prosecutors bring cases against those using "ghost guns" -- unserialized and untraceable firearms -- to commit crimes, and pursue unlawful gun sellers, among other things, according to the White House.

Biden paid a visit to New York City on Thursday afternoon, where he called for more funding for community policing and law enforcement agencies.

"The answer is not to abandon our streets," said the U.S. president during an event at the headquarters of the City of New York Police Department in Lower Manhattan.

"The answer is not to defund the police," he continued. "It's to give you the tools, the training, the funding to be partners, to be protectors."

Biden was joined on the visit by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Guns are on display at the Dallas Gun Show in Parker, a suburban city of Dallas, Texas, the United States, Jan. 22, 2022. (Photo by Lin Li/Xinhua)

"Gun violence is not just a problem for New York City or New York State," Hochul tweeted. "It's a national crisis."

Gun deaths have also spiked in the United States over the last two years.

The United States reported 20,794 gun violence deaths in 2021, up from 19,490 deaths in 2020 and 15,474 fatalities in pre-pandemic 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

There have been 1,554 gun violence deaths in the United States so far this year, the data showed.