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Home » Philadelphia reaches a sad record of 500 homicides, as leaders stress that the casualties are more than figures

Philadelphia reaches a sad record of 500 homicides, as leaders stress that the casualties are more than figures

Three of them hit the woman in the chest. He later sees the alleged shooter walking down the street. The adjunct reported that the woman was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Philadelphia Police Inspector DF Pace told WPVI that police believe the incident is domestic and the shooter is being asked to surrender.

“We can’t just say because he’s 500, he’s more special than any of the 499 that came before him. Everybody’s a life. Everybody’s a person who had a family,” Pace said.

The shooting comes just days after another suspicious domestic incident rocked the city. Jessica Covington, a 32-year-old pregnant woman, was shot at least 11 times in the head and abdomen as the expectant mother unloaded gifts from her baby shower. Police told CNN affiliate KYW.
“Please stop shooting at each other. Stop killing our community, please,” City Council President Daryl Clark said at a news conference Wednesday.

“There’s a better way. We just put $155 million down the road with community groups, right? We have jobs available. We have comprehensive services available,” he said. “This message goes out to all those who are at a level of desperation where they think there is no other way, or who have the mindset that this is what makes you shoot a pregnant woman. Think about it man. Don’t continue this activity because it’s killing our communities.”

He described the city’s homicide scourge as an “unacceptable toll that is almost too much to bear.” Police Commissioner Daniel Outlaw reminded the community that there is a $20,000 permanent reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in any of the murders.

He acknowledged that although there has been a downward trend in killings since the beginning of the year, the violence is unacceptable.

He said that these deaths are more than a number. “It’s not about reaching 200, 300, 500, 600. It’s people. These victims are brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, nieces, nephews, mentors, team members, classmates, most of them. Children. And those whose lives have been tragically cut short, their lives have left a void in the hearts of their families and their absence has had a profound impact on our community.”

The numbers are a microcosm of a “disturbing national trend.” Promoting the city’s multimillion-dollar investment in violence control, Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement.
According to the Criminal Justice Council, the number of homicides in the United States continued to rise during the first three quarters of 2021, but at a slower pace, a year after the record spike in homicides that followed the killing of George Floyd.
Violent crime spiked as the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the country, with millions protesting racial injustice and police brutality and the economy reeling under the burden of the pandemic.

Philadelphia police are working to target…

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