STL homicides jump 30 percent in 2014

In 2014, St. Louis experienced its worst year for homicides since 2008 – a 30 percent jump in murders compared to 2013.

St. Louis was home to 159 murders (through Dec. 30), some 39 more than the year before. In 2008 – a recent high-water mark – the city recorded 167 homicides.

The uptick in murders bucks a national downward trend in several major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, New York, Detroit and Kansas City. The reasons for the increase are unclear, but a bloody spring had pushed homicides up by 47 percent through April. After a slow-down, every month from July on realized more murders than the previous year, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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