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St. Louis Homicides Match Total For 2019 Amid Crime Surge

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Marlo Safi Culture Reporter
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St. Louis, Missouri matched its total homicide number for all of 2019 Monday when a 15-year-old girl was shot to death, the Associated Press reported.

The girl was the 194th homicide victim in 2020, matching the total of 2019 with roughly 3 1/2 months left in the year, according to the Associated Press.

Police responded to a call at around 6 p.m. Monday in far northern  St. Louis, where they found the victim, identified as Deosha Purnell, suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

St. Louis is among several U.S. cities that have experienced a crime surge in 2020, and has had one of the nation’s highest per-capita homicide rates for several years.

Between January to July, crimes including homicide, rape, robbery and assault were up 90% in downtown St. Louis, compared with the same period in 2019, according to St. Louis Today. Violent crime in all neighborhoods citywide through July was up 4%, while property crimes downtown and citywide were down slightly through the end of July compared with the same period in 2019.

Robberies and aggravated assaults sharply increased in June and July, and both numbers were higher than any other June or July on record, going back to 2005.

Numerous other cities have also experienced an increase in crime, including Chicago and New York City. (RELATED: New York City Shootings Surge 358% Compared To Last Year Amid Disbanding Of Anti-Crime Police Unit)