On the final weekend of the 2018 year, three killings brought the city of Philadelphia to a total of 351 homicides. 2018 recorded the highest number of homicides in Philadelphia in more than a decade. Over this final weekend, twelve shootings occurred in various areas in the city. Four of these shootings left fifteen victims wounded and three murdered.

As stated briefly in my previous post, Black-on-Black gun crime was a substantial issue in our city’s murder rates for the 2018 year. A study by the Violence Policy Center reveals that Pennsylvania has been ranked the fifth deadliest state in the nation for black homicides. With 50 percent of the 75 percent of black men who were murdered last year being murdered by other black men, it is fair to say that this study has been proven accurate.

Over the past ten years, Philadelphia has averaged 331 murders per year. According to CBS News, Philadelphia has been identified as the twelfth most dangerous city (out of 19,519 cities) in the United States America.  Yet, no action has been taken in attempt to lower the city’s skyrocketing murder rates. With no action taken, many Philadelphia citizens watch as the lives of their family, friends, and other loved ones are taken by bullets. Unfortunately, we are also watching as gun violence becomes a normality in our city. To many people, the daily local news reports of gun violence are normal. They are becoming an everyday occurrence, which should not be the case. Philadelphia citizens need to work together to keep the guns off of the streets to lower our murder rates, to make our beautiful city of “Brotherly Love” a better place.