Tracking gun violence in Philadelphia: July 28, 2020

Philadelphia Police report that 48 people were shot in the city last week, down from 52 during the previous week. An average of 28 people were shot in Philadelphia each week during 2019. The weekly average during the past five years was 27. (PPD Weekly Reports)

The latest update also reports 1,774 aggravated assaults with guns this year, up 24 percent vs. 2019.

The most recent data from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office reports 553 arrests for aggravated assaults with guns through July 24 of this year, three percent behind last year’s pace.

During the first 27 days of July, 189 shooting victims were reported across the city, according to the Shooting Victims data set provided by the police and displayed at Open Data Philly, as seen above. You can break down this data further with our Philadelphia Shooting Victims dashboard.

Philadelphia’s first 1,000 shooting victims of 2020, including 182 fatalities through last week, will result in an economic burden of nearly $300 million to be paid mostly by taxpayers, as calculated from the city’s 2019 Roadmap to Safer Communities.

Total homicides are running 31 percent ahead of last year’s pace and 81 percent ahead of pace recorded in 2014, according to the latest update from Crime Maps & Stats page on the police department’s web site. Police announced heightened deployment to hot spots last weekend.

Surviving relatives recently leapt at the opportunity to “share the small details about their loved ones whose lives were cruelly cut short.”

To learn about more individuals lost to gun violence in our city, visit the Philadelphia Obituary Project.

The Gun Violence archive has tracked news reports from 42 incidents in which with three or more people killed or wounded by gunfire so far this year in Philadelphia.

Trump’s plan: Sending federal police could make the core violence problem even worse, according to at least one expert.

New initiative: The PA Safety Alliance plans to provide “a united perspective that informs statewide safety efforts, and implements sensible gun policies to effectively end firearm injuries and deaths.”

From the community: Black Brotherly Love wants to connect young people in Philadelphia with better opportunities.

The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity held a virtual town hall seeking solutions to gun violence. YEAH Philly visited a block where three people were shot or killed.

In the Lehigh Valley, community activists are “creating the new gangster … a responsible man taking care of their families.”

New research: Universal background checks for handgun purchases can reduce homicide rates of African Americans.

New resources: The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence has a new site that compiles data, research, and evidence-based recommendations for addressing America’s gun violence epidemic. 

Mass shootings: The U.S. has witnessed 305 mass shootings though July 19. of this year. The Violence Project just released their Expanded Mass Shooter Database, available for download with nearly 200 variables describing over 50 years of data.

Pandemic impact: Gun violence has been spiking across the U.S. this year and there has been a steep rise in Black suicides in Chicago. Violence interrupters from Cure Violence haven’t been able to hit the streets in Philadelphia. Interrupters are struggling with even more issues in Baltimore.

People affected by gun violence in Philadelphia can find resources online, compiled by Billy Penn.

Safe gun storage prevents unintentional shootings and people in Philadelphia are invited to get a free gun lock from Temple Safety Net.

To learn more about gun violence and prevention in Philadelphia and beyond, visit The Initiative for Better Gun Violence Reporting.