Newsmonger
Murder City: Police stats show 2012 had more kills in San Antonio
Published: January 23, 2013
Nationally, homicides have continued to decrease steadily since about 2005. According to FBI stats and previous media reports, San Antonio's murder rate appears to have peaked in the mid-1990s, with as many as 22.5 murders per 100,000 residents, followed by a steep decline that has kept us hovering anywhere between 6 and 9 murders per 100,000 residents ever since.
According to stats the Current received from SAPD late Friday, homicides in the Alamo City jumped in 2012 for the second year in a row. Last year, San Antonio police opened 92 murder investigations, up from 88 in 2011. Justifiable homicides jumped from 6 to 15 between 2011 and 2012, meanwhile manslaughters dipped slightly from 3 in 2011 to 2 in 2012.
In 2011, other major Texas cities like Austin, Houston, and Dallas saw a drop in murder rates, while San Antonio's shot up slightly from 5.7 to 6.6 murders per 100,000 residents (those cities' 2012 murder rates were not immediately available). Numbers provided by SAPD last week put 2012's murder rate at about 6.7 murders per 100,000 residents. San Antonio saw its first killing of the year on January 4, 2012, when police found Rodolfo Velasquez Jr., 36, inside his SUV with a gunshot wound to the right side of his head. Velasquez's murder is one of over 30 that remain unsolved, according to stats provided by police.
Police officials couldn't be reached for comment by the Current's Monday print deadline. Go to sacurrent.com for an interactive map of San Antonio's 2012 body count.
Murder by category
SAPD breaks down 2012's murders by these categories:
Narcotics: 9
Acquaintance: 28
Unknown: 25
Gang: 5
Stranger: 3
Family Violence: 11
Kidnapping: 1
Capital Murder of a Child: 5
Capital Murder – other: 4
Murders by City Council district
District 1: 12
District 2: 16
District 3: 15
District 4: 9
District 5: 10
District 6: 7
District 7: 5
District 8: 3
District 9: 2
District 10: 10
View SA Body Count 2012 in a larger map
> Email Michael Barajas
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