Chicago's 762 Homicides in 2016 Is Highest in 19 Years
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US city of Chicago marked 2016 as the deadliest year in nearly two decades, data released by the Chicago Police Department shows.
The city saw a surge in gun violence in 2016: 762 murders, 3,550 shooting incidents, and 4,331 shooting victims, according to a statement released by the department on Sunday.
There were 480 murders in 2015, the most in the city since 1997.
The bloodshed has brought trauma to the lives of thousands of people.
City police investigated 27 shooting incidents, 12 of which were fatal, just in the last week of December 2016, according to CNN.
Attacks on police officers nearly doubled in 2016, which represents a "completely unacceptable rise in violence," the release said. However, it did not state specific figures for attacks on officers.
As part of plan to combat the rising homicide count, the Chicago Police Department will amp up its force in 2017.
