Shooting, murder trends mixed in NYC, Chicago and other major US cities as summer comes to end

On the heels of a summer of fearing that shootings and violence in major cities nationwide would continue their upward trends from earlier in the year, crime statistics in some places remained largely the same, if not decreased, while police officials in others – such as Chicago – continued their pleas for peace amid increasing bloodshed, statistics show.

Experts previously told Fox News that they feared recent shooting and murder upticks would lead to more violent summer months, especially considering the numbers were higher than the previous year even before Memorial Day. An analysis of the crime statistics for some of the major U.S. cities shows the crime statistics were varied – but the overall numbers did not stop police officials from begging the public to stop the bloodshed linked to illegal firearms and gun violence.

CHICAGO

In announcing crime statistics in Chicago for the month of August, police officials described “a challenging time across the city,” with 78 murders, or 22% more, for the month compared to August 2020. The city saw a 3% uptick in murders year-to-date compared to the past year.

And while shootings had decreased from 380 in August 2020 to 372 in August 2021, the number of shooting victims was up by three last month compared to the same month last year.

For July, Chicago Police Department saw two fewer murders year over year, but shootings were up. CPD reported 461 shootings with 614 victims in July 2021, compared to the 402 shootings with 561 victims in July 2020.