Surge of gun violence added to the traumas of 2020
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Champe Barton, Brian Freskos, and Daniel Nass at The Trace write—A Historic Surge in Gun Violence Compounds the Traumas of 2020. In over a dozen cities, homicides rose by 50 % or extra this yr. “It’s very likely that these increases are larger than any on record,” stated one criminologist:
From Oakland to Chicago to New York City, homicides and shootings crept towards — and generally exceeded — all-time highs. The sudden upswing reversed a long time of progress, and offers a prism for the intersecting crises that characterised 2020. While researchers are nonetheless choosing over the causes, the results of the violence are plain: Thousands of communities, households, and oldsters like Foster compelled to handle horrible voids — and saddled with the data that at any second, extra gunfire may tear open new ones.
Meanwhile, different sorts of crime similar to housebreaking, larceny, and drug offenses declined throughout the nation.
While almost each sort of gun violence spiked this yr, mass shootings confirmed a very steep enhance. In spite of the social isolation imposed by the pandemic, the variety of shootings with 4 or extra victims exceeded any latest yr by greater than 50 %. […]