Los Angeles recorded fewer killings and shooting victims in the first three weeks of 2022 following a year in which the city experienced a 15-year high in homicides.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said 26 people have been killed so far, compared to 33 at the same point last year, Fox Los Angeles reported.
LAPD RELEASE DRAMATIC BODYCAM OF OFFICER REVIVING ‘LIFELESS’ TODDLER
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore talks during a news conference at LAPD headquarters in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez,File)
“While the numbers are still stabilizing, I can report that in the first three weeks we have seen somewhat of a slowing down of the number of shots fired, number of shooting victims and the number of homicides compared to the same period last year,” he told the board of police commissioners Tuesday.
The numbers were still above figures from 2020, when 19 people were killed through Jan. 22 of that year, Moore cautioned.
Memorial photo of LA officer Fernando Arroyos.
(Los Angeles Police Protective League)
While homicides declined slightly, robberies increased 14%, Moore said. Killings this month included the shooting death of Fernando Arroyos, 27, an off-duty police officer killed during a robbery, and the stabbing death of Brianna Kupfer, a 24-year-old graduate student killed while working at a high-end furniture shop.
Another includes the death of 16-year-old Tioni Theus, who died of a gunshot wound to the neck and was found dead by a freeway.
Tioni Theus, 16, was found dead by a Los Angeles freeway on Jan. 8. Investigators are still looking for her killer.
(California Highway Patrol)
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Like many cities, Los Angeles saw a spike in violent crime last year with nearly 400 killings, making it the deadliest year for the city since 2007.
