Gov. Kathy Hochul touted what she indicated was the early success of expanding the state's red flag law that is meant to keep guns away from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. 

Hochul at an appearance in Suffolk County on Long Island Friday pointed to a sharp increase in the number of restraining order applications filed by State Police in the 88 days since she signed the measure. 

The governor over the last several months has called for increased monitoring of social media accounts and potential acts of domestic terrorism. In June, Hochul approved an expansion of the red flag law previously on the books that makes health care professionals who have examined a person within the last six months eligible to file extreme risk protection orders.

Law enforcement and local prosecutors in New York are also able to file risk protection orders based on credible information that a person is likely to engage in dangerous behavior. 

In the weeks since the approval, the State Police have filed 184 orders of protection, a 96% increase and nearly double from what was filed in 2021 alone. It's not clear, however, how many of these orders were granted approval by a judge. 

The changes to the law were made in the wake of a mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket in which the alleged shooter shot and killed 10 Black people. Law enforcement officials have said the alleged shooter traveled to the city in order to target people in a predominantly Black neighborhood.  

"People are telegraphing about what they're going to do," Hochul said on Friday. "The information's out there. The intent is out there."

The red flag law's expansion was packaged with new gun control laws, including a ban on the sale of body vests and requiring people to be at least 21 to obtain a license for a semiautomatic weapon. 

Hochul this month signed an order to increase monitoring of potential domestic threats made online. And later in August, the state Division of Criminal Justice Services and the group Everytown will train law enforcement officials on the red flag law's changes and implementation.  

"We're talking about connecting the dots before something happens," she said. "I want to be in the business of preventing crimes before solving crimes."