Chicago continues to outpace last year’s shooting and homicide totals through the first eight months of the year, following one of the deadliest months of August in the last two decades, according to police data.
Monthly crime figures released Wednesday by the Chicago Police Department show the city has recorded 524 homicides and 2,344 shootings so far in 2021. Those totals are up 3% and 9%, respectively, over the same time period last year.
In the month of August alone, Chicago recorded 78 homicides, making it the second deadliest August since 1996, according to CPD data. That total includes the killing of police Officer Ella French, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop early last month.