The first two weeks of 2021 saw 59 shooting victims in South Los Angeles compared with seven last year, L.A. Police Chief Michel Moore said in a tweet Saturday, calling attention to a deadly crime surge that has coincided with a devastating pandemic.
The police headquarters account also weighed in on the increase in violence, reporting that citywide in a slightly different time period there were 68 shootings and 24 homicides, “the highest year-to-date start in over 10 years.”
The ongoing pandemic — which has kept many businesses closed and many people at home — may be one factor.
Through January and February 2020, gun violence was slightly elevated over the same period in 2019. Other crime was relatively flat. Then, the state issued its shutdown order in March, and crime patterns radically shifted.
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