Amid a rash of weekend gun violence, Los Angeles early Sunday reached a bloody benchmark not seen in a decade: 300 homicides, the Los Angeles Times reports. The milestone comes amid growing concerns about spikes in violence in Los Angeles and in.. other big cities. From Saturday into Sunday morning, there were four killings, among other shootings, the Los Angeles Police Department said. One victim was a 17-year-old boy riding a bicycle, another a 50-year-old homeless man. A 20-year-old man was killed, as was a 41-year-old woman.
In past decades, L.A. experienced far more violence, with more than 1,000 homicides in some years in the 1980s and 1990s. The city has not surpassed 300 killings since 2009. Now, Los Angeles has seen a 25 percent increase in killings over last year, hitting the 300 mark with more than a month left in 2020. Shootings are up more than 32 percent. Much of this weekend’s violence occurred on the street, including drive-by shootings. In addition to the fatal shootings, weekend gun violence left several others injured, including teenagers.