US Crime News: Shootings In Baltimore Surge 30 Percent Higher In 2017 Compared To Last Year

RTSJZFF — Jaz Jacobs (L) and Kevin Walloons gather to remember Freddie Gray and all victims of police violence during a rally outside city hall in Baltimore, Maryland, July 27, 2016. Reuters

Shootings in Baltimore, one of the most dangerous cities in the United States, are up 30 percent in January 2017 compared to the same time last year. On Thursday, two men died while three people were injured in three shootings across the city.

The number of reported Baltimore homicides has jumped from 11 in 2016 to 17 this year for the same span.

The first homicide Thursday occurred around 2:46 a.m. in the northeastern part of the city following a 911 call about a shooting. Angelo Wheeler, 38, was taken to the hospital by paramedics where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot to the head after reportedly being involved in an altercation. The second killing occurred at about 7 p.m. in the southern part of the city when police found George Cookson, 31, alone in his home after multiple gunshot wounds.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh authorized the hiring of 100 more policemen to the Baltimore Police Department Thursday in an effort to curb the violence.

"[Pugh] believes that there has to be a connection between the citizens of Baltimore and the police officers that are sworn to serve and protect them," Pugh spokesman Anthony McCarthy told reporters Thursday.

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The past two years have been particularly deadly in Baltimore. In 2015, the city experienced a record 344 homicides and 2016 was the second worst with 310.

In December, Pugh announced that the city planned on reducing homicides in 2017 by installing 6,000 additional cameras on traffic lights across poorer neighborhoods, the Baltimore Sun reported. She cited how neighborhoods with better lighting had significantly lower crime rates.

"It's really sad we're at 300 murders...We know there are too many guns on the street…" Pugh said. "We've got to light the city up. I'm talking about lights that will make it brighter in our neighborhoods and make people feel safer."

There are 2 ways to look at Baltimore's 2016 homicide rate: Down from record high in 2015, or up from every single other year ever. You pick
— Kevin Rector (@kevrector) December 21, 2016

The homicide rate was 50 killing per 100,000 residents as of Dec. 21, 2016, trailing the record homicide rate in 2015, which was reportedly 55.2 killings per 100,000 residents.

Approximately 90 percent of the homicides in 2015 came from shootings. Greater than 90 percent of the homicide victims in 2015 were male, with more than 50 percent of those being between 18 and 30 years old. At least 90 percent of homicide victims in 2015 were black.