Homicide Is Soaring In The Columbus, OH Metro Area

Columbus OH

13 October, 2021

12:54 PM

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By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. Columbus 2021-10-13 Homicides are rising at a record pace in the United States. According to a recent FBI report, there were a total of 21,570 murders committed in 2020, the most of any year in the last two and a half decades and up nearly 30% from 2019 — the largest annual increase on record. The spike in homicides came during a tumultuous year. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools and left millions of Americans out of work. Footage of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer rattled confidence in American law enforcement and sparked nationwide protests. Firearms sales soared, and tens of millions of new guns proliferated across communities nationwide. Here is a look at the states where gun sales are surging. Some experts speculate that each of these factors likely played a role in rising homicide rates nationwide. While it may be years before the precise causal factors are identified, many U.S. cities are bearing the brunt of the rash of deadly violence. In metropolitan areas across the country, the increase in homicides last year eclipsed the national surge — in some cases, many times over. Columbus is one of several Ohio metro areas to report a surge in homicides. A total of 192 murders were reported in Columbus in 2020, up 69.9% from 113 in 2019. Currently, the metro area's homicide rate of 9.0 incidents per 100,000 people is considerably higher than the national rate of 6.5 per 100,000, while last year, Columbus' homicide rate was closely in line with the 5.1 per 100,000 national rate. Cases of aggravated assault also surged in Columbus in 2020, soaring by nearly 28%. The trend has not slowed in 2021, as the city is on pace to have its deadliest year on record. So far, only about half of the 147 murders reported in the city proper year to date have been solved. All data in this story is at the metro area level from the FBI. Only metro areas with populations of at least 250,000 residents and at least one homicide in 2019 were considered.     Can't see the article's infographic? Click here to view the original story.This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.