Tracking gun violence in Philadelphia: November 17, 2020

Mapped: Shooting victims under age 18 reported in Philadelphia this year. [Office of the Controller]

Latest Philadelphia data

• As of midnight Sunday, police had recorded 430 homicides this year in Philadelphia, twice as many as had been recorded on the same date in 2013. [PhillyPolice.com]

Outbreak

• During one 24-hour period last week in Philadelphia, a pregnant woman was shot, a four-year-old girl was shot and police killed a man they say fired at officers. [NBC10/CBS3/6ABC]

• Three young teens were shot Friday afternoon in Gray’s Ferry and a 13-year-old boy was shot Sunday in Kensington. A Philadelphia ER doc says: “This is insanity and needs to stop!” [NBC10/CBS3/@ResusOne]

Context

• New York City has suffered hundreds fewer shooting incidents than Philadelphia this year even though they have five times our population, [NYC Open Data/Open Data Philly/Politifact]

• Only Chicago, which exceeds Philly’s population by about 1 million people, has experienced more deadly gun violence, with 684 homicides. [WHYY]

Clearance rates

• The Denver Police Department’s new Firearm Assault Team has solved 56 of its first 86 nonfatal cases, giving the team a 65% clearance rate. Only 16% of the Philadlephia’s 1,300 non-fatal shootings this year have been cleared, according to an NBC10 report last week. [Longmont Times-Call/NBC10]

Preemption

• The Trace reported on Philadelphia’s fight against the state ban on local gun laws. [The Trace]

Research

• Trauma hospitalizations fell in Philly during the first COVID-19 lockdown, but gun violence went up. [ScienceDaily]

Buyback

• The Tasker Street Missionary Baptist Church in South Philadelphia held its second annual Gun Buyback Program on Saturday. They took 63 guns off the street according to a local violence prevention activist. [6ABC/@BilalQayyumq]

Call in today!

• Register now to participate in this Zoom call: Community Conversations: Addressing Community and Youth Violence City-Wide in Philadelphia. [MEE Productions]

Solution of the week

• Wrapping social and emotional services around victims of violence can keep them from being victims again. [The Trace]

Honored

• Violence prevention advocate Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight has been recognized with Philadelphia Tribune Magazine’s 2020 Most Influential Leader Award. [Mothers in Charge]

For excellence in criminal justice reporting

• The deadline has been extended for the John Jay College of Criminal Justice/Harry Frank Guggenheim Awards. [The Crime Report]

What can journalists do?

• Nonprofit Quarterly checked in on the Center for Gun Violence Reporting. [NPQ]

Drive people to action

• CeaseFirePA is hiring a Communications Manager. [CeaseFirePA]

Finding help in Philadelphia

• The Philly Gun Violence Resource List was compiled by WHYY’s Billy Penn and has been released for public use by other media organizations or anyone else. [Google Docs]

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

Report for us!

• We are now seeking applicants to join the Credible Messenger Reporting Project and tell the story of gun violence and prevention in Philadelphia from the community perspective.

Community reporters will be paired with professional journalists to learn from each other, craft stories and get the news out where it can make a difference.

We hope to see some of the resulting reports shared by local news organizations, while other might be more effective on social media platforms and we hope to find professional journalists learning more about engaging new audiences. The possibilities are endless.

The Center will provide equal funding to both partners and cover related expenses, including stipends for story subjects from the community in some cases.

Visit our home page for more info and link to apply: IBGVR.org