Missouri Ranks Second in U.S. for Black Homicides

By Keegan Hamilton Wed., Jan. 27 2010 at 12:46 PM

Categories: The Big Bloody (Homicides)

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The dubious distinction was bestowed upon the Show-Me State by the Violence Policy Center, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit in a report published today on black victims of violence.

With 235 African-American homicide victims in 2007 (a per capita rate of 34.8 per 100,000), Missouri trailed only Pennsylvania as the most deadly state for blacks. Indiana, Nevada and Wisconsin round out the top five. The rankings are based on "previously unpublished FBI Supplementary Homicide Report data."

Interestingly, the report found that the average age of the victims was 30 years old, a stat that makes for an interesting comparison to the recent number-crunching done by the RFT's own Chad Garrison. Analyzing data from just St. Louis, he found that roughly a third of the city's homicide victims over the past three years have been 21 years old or younger.

A less surprising fact from the latest findings? The study found that firearms, usually handguns, were the weapon of choice in 84 percent of the murders.

Read the full report entitled "Black Homicide Vicitimization in the United States" after the jump.
Black Homicide 10

(Hat tip to our bff's at The Pitch for the find)