Homicides in Baltimore are up 42 percent from only a year earlier, and authorities are struggling to find reasons why. Killings have spiked since April, when widespread protests and rioting exploded after the death of Freddie Gray, while he was being held under police custody. Six Baltimore police officers were charged with Gray’s death.
In 2011, murders in Baltimore dropped to below 200 for one year for the first time since the 1970s. The drop created a sense of optimism in the city of 620,000 people.
But that all changed this year with the wave of violence. Maryland governor Larry Hogan said on a radio show, “Baltimore City is just out of control with respect to the murder rate.”
Jeffrey Ian Ross, a criminologist at the University of Baltimore, believes the increase in homicides can be attributed to the illegal drug trade and easy access to guns. “It could be new people coming into the game and an increased need to demonstrate authority inside a gang,” he said. Gang related crimes are common in Baltimore.
The current crime wave is not limited to Baltimore, however. Other large American cities have been seen increased rates of violence this year. Among them are Chicago, Milwaukee, Sacramento, and Washington.
