This has been a particularly deadly year in Memphis. Recording its 200th killing yesterday, there haven’t been more homicides in the city since 1993, when Memphis had a record 213 homicides, reports the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I’m outraged that senseless murders continue to happen,” said Mayor Jim Strickland. “Any murder is unacceptable. It’s awful that last week a woman was killed while delivering pizzas and that a young boy was beaten to death. Police are doing all they can to keep our neighborhoods safe. My administration will continue to work to drive down homicide.”
Of the 200 homicides this year, at least 16 have been ruled justifiable. In 2015, the city recorded 161 homicides; in 2014, the city reported 168 homicides. By one measure, the homicide rate in Memphis is even worse than that of Chicago, which has also seen an alarming increase in killings this year. The Memphis population stands at 656,861, for a homicide rate of 30.44 victims per 100,000 population. Through the same period in Chicago, 685 people had been killed. The Chicago population stands at 2,722,389, for a homicide rate of 25.16 victims per 100,000 population. Neither is as bad as New Orleans, which has a homicide rate of more than 40 per 100,000 population.