There are still three days left in the month of January, and there have already been 40 homicides in Chicago. Should this pace continue, the city will equal (and quite possibly surpass) last year's 506 murders. Just to illustrate how alarming Chicago's homicide rate is, New York City has twice the population, yet only three recorded homicides. That's scary.
A violent weekend has given Chicago its highest January murder total since 2002, when 45 people were killed. Considering the fact that the month isn't over yet, that figure could be eclipsed. Authorities attribute the city's growing homicide rate to gang violence and the availability of guns.
The Chicago Police Department says that they've seized 574 guns this month, and 124 in the last week. According to Deputy Commissioner Al Wysingers, that's over three times the amount recovered in Los Angeles and New York.
[via Chicagoist]
