Tracking gun violence in Philadelphia: December 30, 2020

Latest Philadelphia data:

• Police report that 49 people were shot in Philadelphia during the seven-day period ending Sunday; the highest weekly total since November and up from 38 people shot during the previous week. This final installment of their 52-week report counts 2,222 shooting victims since December 30 of last year, amounting to an average of one person shot every four hours of every day since. [Philadelphia Police]

• The latest city data update shows 160 shooting victims through the first 27 days of December. The average monthly total for the past five Decembers was 109 shooting victims. [data.phila.gov]

• Police have recorded 492 homicides this year through Monday night, representing a 40 percent increase when compared with 2019 and more than double the rate suffered in 2013. [PhillyPolice.com]

Christmas violence

• Eight people were shot in Philadelphia on Christmas Day. Police shot and killed a man the say shot and killed his teenage son and wounded a teen nephew early Christmas morning. Two children — ages 11 and 13 — were wounded in an evening shooting in Germantown. [PCGVR/The Philadelphia Inquirer/CBS Philly}

Remembrance

• A memorial service recognized the 20-year anniversary of the Lex Street shooting in West Philadelphia, when seven people were killed following a feud over a car. [@CouncilmemberJG/The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Voices from the community

• A longtime Philadelphia gun violence prevention activist observed three reasons he believes the number of shooting deaths in the city aren’t even higher. [@BilalQayyumq]

• Reports of fatal shooting victims have increased by 31.7 percent this year in Philadelphia, when compared with 2019; slightly more than half of the 58.5 percent increase observed in nonfatal shooting victims this year. [PCGVR]

Reporting on gun violence

• The team at The Trace — the only news organization dedicated exclusively to reporting on gun violence across the U.S. — gathered a list of inspiring gun violence reporting from 2020 and another highlighting their own best work this year. [The Trace/The Trace]

• Pulitzer Prize-winning Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer editorial cartoonist Signe Wilkinson is retiring after 35 years of keeping an eye on gun violence in our city. [@SigneWilk]

• Covering community gun violence? Earlier this year we published a best practices guide for journalists. [IBGVR]

Panicked shoppers

• False active shooter reports sent shoppers running recently Louisiana, New Jersey and North Carolina. [NOLA.com/Patch/@WilmingtonPD]

Mass shootings

• Three people were killed and three more were wounded, including two young teens, in a mass shooting in northern Illinois. [Rockford Register Star]

• News reports have covered more than 600 mass shootings in the US during 2020. [Gun Violence Archive]

Research

• A study of U.S. military personnel showed that providing gun locks and counseling led to increased safe storage and could be key to lowering the suicide rates. [HealthDay]

Federal lawsuit

• Attorneys general want ghost gun parts regulated to stop the steadily increasing use of the untraceable firearms in crimes across the U.S. [The Washington Post]

• The $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill approves another $25 million for federal gun violence research. [The Trace]

Solution of the week

• The new citizens safety task force in Orange County, Fla., launched a community crime survey to gain insights from residents on solutions to gun violence. [WFTV.com]

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: PCGVR.org