Homicide is Soaring in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Metro Area
Homicides are rising at a record pace in the United States. According to a recent FBI report, there were a total of 21,570 murders committed in 2020, the most of any year in the last two and a half decades and up nearly 30% from 2019 — the largest annual increase on record.
The spike in homicides came during a tumultuous year. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools and left millions of Americans out of work. Footage of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer rattled confidence in American law enforcement and sparked nationwide protests. Firearms sales soared, and tens of millions of new guns proliferated across communities nationwide. Here is a look at the states where gun sales are surging.
Some experts speculate that each of these factors likely played a role in rising homicide rates nationwide. While it may be years before the precise causal factors are identified, many U.S. cities are bearing the brunt of the rash of deadly violence. In metropolitan areas across the country, the increase in homicides last year eclipsed the national surge — in some cases, many times over.
The Brownsville, Texas, metro area reported a 225% year-over-year spike in homicides, the worst of any large metro area in the state and third highest nationwide. There were 16 homicides reported in the area in 2020, up 220% from five in 2019. Despite the increase, the local homicide rate of 3.1 per 100,000 people remains below the national rate of 6.5 per 100,000.
Reports of other types of violent crime like aggravated assault and rape declined in Brownsville in 2020, contributing to a 3.8% overall reduction in the voilent crime rate. Including the 13 reported homicides, there were a total of 1,528 violent crimes in Brownsville in 2020 — or 361 for every 100,000 people, slightly below the U.S. rate of 388 per 100,000.
All data in this story is at the metro area level from the FBI. Only metro areas with populations of at least 250,000 residents and at least one homicide in 2019 were considered.
RankState1-yr. change in reported murders (%)Total murders in 2020Murders per 100,000 peopleViolent crimes per 100,000 people1Cedar Rapids, IA500.0124.4251.92Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL225.0266.9475.93Brownsville-Harlingen, TX225.0133.1360.84Greeley, CO220.0164.8324.25Sioux Falls, SD200.0155.5477.76Wilmington, NC188.9268.6372.17Lubbock, TX181.8319.5919.48Killeen-Temple, TX152.64810.3377.29Flint, MI150.07518.6577.610Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY142.9343.9272.411Gainesville, FL142.9175.1760.312Trenton-Princeton, NJ141.24111.2358.613Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA130.8305.2350.014Madison, WI112.5172.5201.715Canton-Massillon, OH111.1194.8366.216Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI108.3504.6350.117Shreveport-Bossier City, LA107.38521.6683.018Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA100.0124.4357.119Laredo, TX100.0124.3335.920Merced, CA100.0248.7598.621College Station-Bryan, TX100.0103.7298.022Raleigh-Cary, NC95.8473.3223.623Vallejo, CA90.5408.9525.724Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI85.620613.1678.225McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX84.2354.0274.826Rockford, IL80.03610.8770.727Reno, NV80.0275.6462.928Syracuse, NY75.0355.4303.829New Haven-Milford, CT75.0496.1256.330Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL73.9405.4286.831Cleveland-Elyria, OH72.121010.3440.632Columbus, OH69.91929.0313.233Stockton, CA68.08411.0722.834Akron, OH66.7557.8378.435Kalamazoo-Portage, MI66.7207.5663.336Salt Lake City, UT62.2604.8384.037Green Bay, WI60.082.5225.038Asheville, NC60.0245.1317.139Knoxville, TN60.0566.4381.940Toledo, OH55.6568.8485.641Ogden-Clearfield, UT55.6142.0172.942Tucson, AZ53.6868.1473.543Springfield, MO52.9265.5631.644Visalia, CA45.0296.2366.045Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT42.9404.3163.946Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA42.9206.5363.647Colorado Springs, CO42.4476.2486.648Rochester, NY42.1545.1262.049San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA40.072.5289.650Tallahassee, FL40.0359.0555.7
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