With gun violence up, King County ends 2021 with 88 homicides
With gun violence up, King County ends 2021 with 88 homicides
King County had 88 homicide victims from gun violence in 2021, which was 17 more than the year before, according to data released by the King County Prosecutor’s shots fired division.
KING COUNTY, Wash. - King County had 88 homicide victims from gun violence in 2021, which was 17 more than the year before, according to data released by the King County Prosecutor’s shots fired division.
The agency released its year-end gun violence report on Monday.
The data showed the numbers of homicide victims, non-fatal shooting victims and the number of incidents involving shots fired.
"Shootings in King County are not evenly distributed by jurisdiction," the prosecutor’s office said.
Data was collected from more than 20 agencies and a majority of the data came from Seattle, Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, Tukwila and the King County Sheriff's Office, which makes up about 79% of the county’s population.
There were 88 homicide victims, 372 people were injured in shootings and 1,405 total shots fired incidents in 2021.
Featured
King County gun violence has already surpassed 2020's year-end totals
Washington's most populous county continues to see a sharp spike in gun violence, with fatal shootings in the first nine months of the year already exceeding 2020’s year-end totals.
In 2021, over 62% of the total shots fired incidents and 59% of the shooting victims were from agencies outside of Seattle.
According to the prosecutor’s report, the total number of shots fired incidents in 2021 (1,405) was up around 26% and the number of overall shooting victims (460) was up 56% over the four-year average from 2017-2020.
The Shots Fired Project, begun in early 2017, tracks the number of fatal and injury shootings in the county, along with shootings that result in property damage and those that don’t but are confirmed by evidence such as shell casings.
The data also showed the number of fatal shooting victims (88) was up 64% while the number of nonfatal shooting victims (372) was up 54% over the four-year average. There have been 17 more fatal shooting victims and 102 more non-fatal shooting victims in 2021 as compared to 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get breaking news alerts in the FREE FOX 13 Seattle app. Download for Apple iOS or Android. And sign up for BREAKING NEWS emails delivered straight to your inbox.
Stay connected with FOX 13 News on all platforms:
DOWNLOAD: FOX 13 News and Weather Apps
WATCH: FOX 13 News Live
SUBSCRIBE: FOX 13 on YouTube
DAILY BRIEF: Sign Up For Our Newsletter
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram