Baltimore had 335 homicides in 2020

BALTIMORE (AP) — The city of Baltimore had 335 homicides in 2020 — 13 fewer than the previous year — but a record number of women and girls were killed.

The Baltimore Sun reports that 48 women and girls were killed in 2020. That’s double the total of women and girls killed three years ago.

The newspaper reports that some of the increase is linked to domestic violence. More women have been implicated in committing violence, which may be another factor in the rise. Yet, overall, Baltimore police identified no specific trends to account for the increase.

“We have not gotten (any indication) that females are being targeted,” Baltimore Police Col. Sheree Briscoe, chief of investigations, told the newspaper. “But the lack of regard the perpetrators have ... they are not paying attention that there are children out here, there are women out here. They are just focused on killing, and oftentimes people are caught in the crosshairs of that violence.”

Female homicide victims included schoolchildren, mothers, the elderly and even babies.

The number of female homicide victims in the city in 2020 is 11 more than the previous record number in 2019. It represents 15% of all homicides in the city.