Number of homicides in Chicago area pass 2019 total

CHICAGO (AP) - Officials announced on Tuesday that with more than three months remaining in 2020 there have been more homicides in the county that includes Chicago than were recorded in all of 2019.

In a news release, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office reported that thus far this year there have been 677 homicides. That is nearly 200 more than occurred for the same period last year and puts the county on a pace to exceed 900 for a full calendar for the first time since 2016 and only the fourth time in more than a quarter century.

The vast majority of those homicides - 565 - occurred within Chicago's city limits. Not surprising, given all the news stories about the surge of gun violence in Chicago this year in predominantly minority communities, the medical examiner's office reported that all but 92 of the victims were shot to death and that of the 677 homicide victims, 521 were Black and 102 were Latino.