Tracking gun violence in Philadelphia: April 14, 2021

This new visualization was recently added to our website: Philadelphia shooting victims: 2007-2020 [PCGVR]

Latest data

• Philadelphia weekly shooting victims jumped back up to 48 during the 7-day period ending Sunday, the second-highest weekly total recorded so far this year. Year-to-date shooting victims in the city are now running 38.7% ahead of last year’s pace. [Philadelphia Police via Google Drive]

• Police reported 140 total homicides in Philadelphia this year through midnight Monday, representing a 35 percent increase over last year’s pace. On the same date in 2015, police had recorded 64 homicides. [PhillyPolice.com]

• Eight people were arrested and charged connection with homicides last month in Philadelphia. Thirteen people were arrested and charged in connection with nonfatal shootings. [Philadelphia District Attorney via Medium]

• Based on our latest look at city data: Female shooting victims are now up 140 percent this year-to-date in Philadelphia. Female shooting fatalities have leapt from four at this time last year to 15 so far during 2021. [Open Data Philly via @PCGVR]

Young reporter killed

• POPPYN Philly Youth News reporter Nasir lost his life to gun violence over the weekend. Nasir shared his personal experience with dyslexia in 2015.[@whatsPOPPYN/YouTube]

Roadmap update today

• The mayor’s third biweekly virtual update on the city’s response to gun violence is scheduled for this afternoon at 1 p.m. Officials are expected to present an update on the violence reduction strategy known as Philadelphia Roadmap to Safer Communities during the press conference which will be streamed live online. [Phila.gov/Facebook]

New Council Agenda

• Philadelphia City Council outlined and detailed a multi-faceted violence prevention and job creation agenda Tuesday in advance of funding discussions and the upcoming city budget. [phlcouncil.com]

Voices

• Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists president Ernest Owens shared his thoughts on gun violence news coverage in Philadelphia. [@MrErnestOwens]

• City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas says he sees a lack of coverage and attention to mass shootings when Black lives are lost. [Lx]

• Lauren Footman of the Coalition to Stop gun violence says the city needs to implement “a sustainable evidence-based plan that truly operates within the realm of public health.” [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

• Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner says “there’s absolutely no question, all over the country, we are going to see significant reductions in the level of gun violence” when we see the resumption of community services curtailed by the pandemic. [The Philadelphia Tribune]

• Reclaim Philadelphia streamed a panel discussion among community organization leaders last week called “Funding What Works: Ensuring Safe Communities.” [Facebook]

• A Temple criminal justice professor says that more aggressive policing is not a long-term solution to gun violence. [NBC10]

• WHYY community outreach organizer Eric Marsh says safety is a right that every Philadelphian in every neighborhood deserves. [WHYY]

Doctors on the case

• Recapped: Temple trauma surgeon and researcher Dr. Jessica Beard represented the Center for Gun Violence Reporting during last week’s Gun Violence News Summit organized by the Columbia Journalism Review. [The Trace/WNYC]

• Stoneleigh Fellow Dr. Ruth Abaya and Dr. Eugenie South of Penn’s Urban Health Lab joined community activist Tyrique Glasgow to discuss the roots of gun violence on Radio Times. [WHYY]

• Penn trauma surgeon and researcher Dr. Elinore Kaufman discussed media coverage of mass shootings on Southern California Public Radio. [AirTalk]

• Emory University trauma surgeon Dr. Randi Smith, formerly of Penn Trauma, discussed her research correlating food insecurity and gun violence on the Germantown InfoHub Radio Hour. [Germantown Info Hub/National Library of Medicine]

Action

• Several organizations rallied Friday afternoon outside City Hall and called on the mayor to invest $100 million in gun violence prevention. [6ABC]

• City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson led a Peace Not Guns rally in South Philadelphia. [The Philadelphia Tribune]

• Volunteers with Moms Demand Action brought The Road Trip for Background Checks to Cobbs Creek Sunday afternoon. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

• The city is organizing a series of event that will be streamed online this week as part of National Youth Violence Prevention Week. [Mayor’s Office of Commmunications/Facebook]

How-to

• You have options for getting rid of unwanted firearms and ammunition. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Washington

• The White House released a fact sheet announcing six initial actions to address the gun violence public health epidemic. The parent of a child killed at Sandy Hook says the executive actions “while commendable, will not be enough.” [whitehouse.gov/KCTV5]

Research

• A handgun in the home increases the risks for homicide and for suicide in that home. [UCLA Fielding School of Public Health]

Analysis

• Black and Hispanic neighborhoods were hit hardest when murders rose last year. [The Marshall Project]

Sending a message

• New York became first state to declare gun violence a public health crisis. [BK Reader]

Solution of the Week

• Moving your retirement investments away from stock holdings in gun companies can change the way guns are purchased and distributed in this country. [Mashable]

More credibility

• Gun violence prevention folks in two other cities have contacted us about replicating our Credible Messenger Reporting Project. Drop us a line if you are interested in joining a very preliminary chat about bringing it to yours. [PCGVR]