Philly Murder Rate Rising Back Toward Usual Horrific Numbers

Remember when we told you recently that Philly’s murder rate had dropped to a 45-year low? Umm….never mind:

Ten people have been killed in Philadelphia since Saturday, an unusually deadly four-day span in the city. The killings, which have all involved gun violence, have been reported across the city and are not related. Police have not announced arrests in any of the slayings. The most recent two homicides occurred overnight.

To be fair, the official police count still puts us well behind last year’s pace: There have been 134 murders so far this year, down from 190 this same time last year—and far off the 219 at this same point in the awful year of 2007. Even with the sudden accumulation of violence, the pace so far is the lowest of any year since then. It’s even possible the city will see fewer than 300 murders this year. But it would probably help if the weather cooled off a bit, eh?