A least a dozen U.S. cities have set new homicide records with only three weeks remaining in 2021.
Cities, such as Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Columbus, Louisville, and Baton Rouge, recorded over 100 murders with Philadelphis recording over 500 -- the first time the city has seen that many murders since 1990.
"It's terrible to every morning get up and have to go look at the numbers and then look at the news and see the stories. It's just crazy. It's just crazy and this needs to stop," said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
Portland, Tucson, Albuquerque, Austin, St. Paul, Toledo, and Rochester also set new records and had their deadliest years in 2021. Half of the dozen cities topped records that were set in 2020. The cities are also predominantly led by Democratic mayors.
Pandemic-related stress, political and racial conflict, and the mass departure of police officers have been listed as contributing factors to the soaring murder rate.
According to the FBI, homicides rose by 30 percent in 2020 -- the largest one-year jump since the bureau started keeping track. Firearms were used in over 75 percent of the murders. Experts have also noticed that crime has risen in small, suburban, and rural areas despite major cities becoming the safer in recent years.
"In the '90s, New York and Los Angeles accounted for 13.5 percent of all murders nationally. Last year, it was under four percent," said data consultant Jeff Asher.
While the 12 cities have set new records, Chicago is still the city with the most homicides in 2021. So far, the city has recorded 753 murders, considerably less than its record 954 which was set in 1970.
Scroll above for a more detailed chart.
Source: ABC News
