Chicago 2012 Homicide Total Reaches 500
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Dec 28, 2012 3:30PM
The fatal shooting of a 40-year-old man on Wednesday brought the Chicago Police Department's official 2012 homicide tally to 500. This is the first time since 2008 that Chicago has recorded more than 500 homicides in one year. This is only the second time since 2003 that the murder rate has been over 500
Police say the victim Nathaniel T. Jackson was shot in the head while standing on the sidewalk in front of a convenience store in the West Side neighborhood of Austin.
According to the Tribune, homicides are up 17 percent , and shootings are up 11 percent over last year. Local activists with a different process of tallying violent deaths (including police-involved deaths) had calculated 500 homicides on Dec. 15.
Year: Total Homicides
2001: 667
2002: 656
2003: 601
2004: 453
2005: 451
2006: 471
2007: 448
2008: 513
2009: 459
2010: 436
2011: 433