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Saturday, 03 January 2009 01:00 |
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Nearly three-fourths of the homicides in 2008 were committed with a firearm, up from 52 percent in 2007  Guns are being used a lot more to commit homicides in Bernalillo County. This year, 72.5 percent of the 51 killings were committed with a firearm. The gun of choice: a semi-automatic handgun, which was used in 53 percent of last year's killings. The reason behind the influx in guns might be due to the motive behind the killings. Police report they have noticed an increase in drug-related killings in which the victim owed a debt. They say the weapon of choice for most dealers and debt collectors is a gun. Read today's Journal Story about the drug trend here.
So do guns kill people? If they do, so do hands, knives and cars, all of which were used as weapons in 2008. So what do you think about this year's homicides? To help you form an opinion, we have included all of this year's and last year's demographics. To view an interactive map of the killings, click here. Also, here are some pictures of last year's victims. Click the read more button to view the demographics.
| VICTIMS | 2008 | 2007 | | Number of Victims | 51 | 54 | | Percentage of Cases Solved | 74.5% | 70.4% | | Average Age of Victim | 34.4 | 35.49 | | Percent of Black Victims | 3.9% | 11.1% | | Percent of White Victims | 29.4% | 25.9% | | Percent of Native American Victims | 7.8% | 7.4% | | Percent of All Latino Victims | 51.0% | 50.0% | | Percent of Hispanic Victims | 51.0% | 46.3% | | Percent of Cuban National Victims | 0.0% | 1.9% | | Percent of Mexican National Victims | 0.0% | 1.9% | | Percent of Asians | 2.0% | 5.6% | | Percent East Indian | 2.0% | 0.0% | | Percent of unknown race | 2.0% | 0.0% | | Percent of Males | 90.2% | 75.9% | | Percent of Females | 9.8% | 24.1% | | OFFENDERS | | | | Average Age of Offenders | 28.85 | 26.38 | | Percent of Black Offenders | 10.4% | 7.5% | | Percent of White Offenders | 27.1% | 28.3% | | Percent of Native American Offenders | 2.1% | 3.8% | | Percent of Hispanic Offenders | 54.2% | 50.9% | | Percent of Cuban Nationals | 0.0% | 0.0% | | Percent of Asians | 2.1% | 5.7% | | Percent unknown | 4.2% | 0.0% | | Percent of Males | 87.5% | 92.5% | | Percent of Females | 12.5% | 7.5% | | WEAPONS | | | | Percent of All Guns | 72.55% | 51.9% | | Percent of Semi-Auto Handguns | 52.9% | 42.6% | | Percent of Revolvers | 11.8% | 5.6% | | Percent of Rifles | 2.0% | 3.7% | | Percent of Shotguns | 5.9% | 0.0% | | Percent of Knives | 7.8% | 20.4% | | Percent of Hands or Feet | 11.8% | 16.7% | | Percent of ligatures | 0.0% | 0.0% | | Percent of Blunt Objects | 2.0% | 5.6% | | Percent of Vehicles | 2.0% | 3.7% | | Percent of Drugs | 0.0% | 0.0% | | Percent Unknown Weapons | 3.9% | 1.9% | MOTIVES (some homicides had multiple motives)
| | | | Percent of Argument | 37.3% | 33.3% | | Percent of Drugs | 23.5% | 14.8% | | Percent of Gangs | 13.7% | 5.6% | | Percent of Child Abuse | 2.0% | 3.7% | | Percent of Sex | 0.0% | 1.9% | | Percent of Self-defense | 2.0% | 1.9% | | Percent of Domestic Violence | 13.7% | 7.4% | | Percent of Murder-Suicide | 3.9% | 1.9% | | Percent of Witness Retaliation | 0.0% | 1.9% | | Percent of Road Rage | 3.9% | 5.6% | | Percent unknown | 9.8% | 9.3% | | Percent robbery | 9.8% | 9.3% | | Percent Mistaken ID | 2.0% | 0.0% | | Percent Mental Illness | 2.0% | 0.0% | | Percent accidental | 0.0% | 1.9% | | LOCATION | | | | Percent in NW | 23.5% | 18.5% | | Percent in SW | 29.4% | 18.5% | | Percent in NE | 25.5% | 37.0% | | Percent in SE | 21.6% | 25.9% | | Percent in EM | 0.0% | 0.0% | | Percent unknown | 0.0% | 0.0% |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 03 January 2009 00:19 )
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