HOUSTON – The number of homicides in Houston in 2020 is the highest its been since at least 2015.
According to data from the Houston Police Department, there have been 346 homicides in the city this year. That number is as of Monday. That total already surpasses the 2019 number of 280, and there are still six weeks remaining in 2020.
KPRC 2 Investigates crunched homicide statistics from the six largest cities in the nation. Houston’s 346 homicides ranks 4th in the country, according to data compiled from the police departments of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix and Philadelphia.
The rise in homicides is creating a concern for grieving family members like Lakisha Everett who believe not enough is being done to draw attention to cases.
“To be honest with you, I feel like my father is just another Black man that’s been taken," Everett said, whose father, Richard Graves, was killed six weeks ago. "That’s how I feel.”
While there has been a strain in community policing for major cities across the nation, it is not impacting the flow of information for those seeking justice.
Andy Kahan, from Crime Stoppers of Houston, said that the tips are coming in faster than in years before.
“The calls that we are getting have quadrupled and frankly we are having a hard time keeping up,” Kahan said.
