HOUSTON – Houston’s murder rate is surging and the Houston Police Department is investing $4 million into trying to tamp it down. One of the homicides was reported in Ghazi Issa’s neighborhood, near the intersection of E. Greenridge Dr. and Skyline Dr in southwest Houston. Issa has lived in the neighborhood for decades and says since the pandemic, the streets have gotten meaner. It is a dangerous area,” he saidHouston’s murder rate is surging, now up 44% year to date, with a total of 358 homicides. “Because we now historically, when you increase your footprint in an area, violent crime goes down,” Acevedo said.