SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Homicides in California jumped 31% last year, making it the deadliest year since 2007, and Black people accounted for nearly one-third of all victims as the most populous state struggled with the coronavirus pandemic and concerns over racial injustice, according to reports released Thursday.
The 2,202 homicides last year were 523 more than in 2019, while the rate increased by a similar margin from 4.2 to 5.5 homicides per 100,000 people.
That s the most slayings since 2,258 people were killed in 2007, and the rate is the highest since 2008. Black people make up 6.5% of California s population but accounted for 31% of all victims last year. Hispanic people accounted for 45%, while 16% were white.
California homicides jump 31% in 2020, most in 13 years
DON THOMPSON, Associated Press
FacebookTwitterEmail
FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles Police officers and investigators work outside a Hollywood Hills home where a fatal shooting occurred in Los Angeles. Homicides in California jumped 31% last year, the deadliest year since 2007, according to a report issued by the state attorney general s office, Thursday, July 1, 2021.Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Homicides in California jumped 31% last year, making it the deadliest year since 2007, and Black people accounted for nearly one-third of all victims as the nation s most populous state struggled with the coronavirus pandemic and concerns over racial injustice, according to reports released Thursday.