Philadelphia gun violence and prevention report: May 12, 2021

The Gun Violence Crisis Map shows 83 female shooting victims, including 19 fatalities, so far this year in Philadelphia. [Philadelphia Office of the Controller]

Women suffering gun violence

• Since 2015, the share of Philadelphia shooting victims who are women has grown by about half. So far this year, 83 women have been shot, and 66 of these women are Black. [6ABC]

• Two Philadelphia moms were among mothers from across the country who discussed how gun violence has shaped their lives — and what solutions they want to see. [The Trace]

• Most people fatally shot by police get little to no national media attention, but especially not Black women. [FiveThirtyEight]

Opinion

• Residents want elected officials to put their taxpayer dollars where their mouths are — to reduce gun violence. [The Philadelphia Sunday Sun]

• City Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Kenyatta Johnson say that doubling the city’s violence prevention efforts is still not nearly enough. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Incident data

• The weekly major crimes update from the Philadelphia Police shows 36 people shot in the city during the seven-day period ending Sunday but also revised the previous week’s total up from 43 to 49 victims. Year-to-date shooting victims in the city are now running 38.7 percent ahead of last year’s pace. [Philadelphia Police Google Drive]

• Seven people were killed and 18 were wounded in weekend shootings alone. [Open Data Philly via @PCGVR]

Arrests and charges

• The District Attorney’s Office reported 13 arrests and cases charged following 127 nonfatal shooting incidents in Philadelphia during April, as well was six arrests and cases charged following 44 homicides. [The Justice Journal]

Motives

• Gang retaliation, drug-related conflicts and cash set aside for construction workers were among reasons Philadelphia Police believe people pulled out guns and opened fire in recent days. [philly.metro.us]

In comparison

• Even with a 35 percent increase in 2020, San Diego has the lowest homicide rate among the ten most populous U.S. cities. Philadelphia is at the other end of the list. [San Diego Union-Tribune]

Briefing today

• The city’s next Virtual Update on Gun Violence Response is scheduled for 1 p.m. today. You can watch or listen live. [Facebook/WURD Radio]

Local grants

• District Attorney Larry Krasner announced $125,000 in violence prevention grants made to five community-based organizations in Philadelphia. [The Justice Wire]

Impact assessment

• The City of Philadelphia is still in the process of independently evaluating the effectiveness of two anti-violence programs. [WHYY]

• We need research and data on what works and then we need to educate people about how to implement policies. [The Denver Post]

Ghost guns

• The ATF has released its new proposed rule related to “privately made firearms,” which they have been recovering more often at crime scenes in recent years. [Thread:@admccourt]

Take the pledge

• The CJR Gun Violence Coverage Commitment represents “six essential lessons” from their recent news reporting summit, in which we participated. [Columbia Journalism Review]

Confronting trauma

• Four US journalists discussed covering mass shootings, including a Philadelphia-based photojournalist. [Committee to Protect Journalists]

Solution of the Week

• Philadelphia could adopt smart policing policies that have made progress reducing gun violence in nearby cities. [The Philadelphia Citizen]

In memoriam

• Khyree Dyches was shot and killed in 2015. He had been hoping to to either create a construction company, renovate old houses or fix cars. [Philadelphia Obituary Project]

Subscribe for free

• We haven’t put out a newsletter in a while because we have been doing a lot of work in the background but we are going to make some important announcements in the coming weeks and months. [MailChimp]