Chicago Murder Count Highest in 20 years; 701 Recorded So Far
SputnikNews.com
03.12.2016
Chicago continues to break records for violence this year, reaching another milestone at the end of last month by recording its 701st homicide. There were fewer than 500 in 2015.
With a month left to go in 2016, Chicago is on track to exceed the 704 killings it saw in 1998 and possibly even the 761 of 1997, as ongoing investigations are not counted among the current total. (Police department statistics also do not include the roughly 20 killings on area expressways, police-involved shootings or justifiable homicides, the Chicago Tribune points out).
The city of 2.7 million has surpassed even the combined total homicides of New York and Los Angeles — much larger cities — which stood at 565 before the end of November.
More than 90% of the 2016 homicides are gun-related, Anthony Guglielmi, head of communications for the Chicago Police Department, told CNN. Nearly 4,050 people have been shot, half again as many as the 2,699 victims of 2015, the Chicago Tribune reports, citing official police statistics.
“The levels of violence we have seen this year in some of our communities is absolutely unacceptable,” Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters earlier this week. The department “will use every tool available to hold violent offenders accountable and will continue to work strategically to address crime and uphold its commitment to rebuild public trust.”
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