Hope emerges in 2022 as homicides dip in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — After one of its deadliest stretches in recent memory, Los Angeles will end 2022 with fewer homicides and shootings than in 2021, sparking hope that the surge in violent crime over the previous two years is flattening.
The number of killings stood at 373 citywide through Christmas Eve — still well above pre-pandemic levels but a 6% decrease from the same time last year, according to preliminary statistics compiled by the Los Angeles Police Department. The city logged 397 homicides last year — its largest total since 2006.
The number of people struck by gunfire also fell 8% compared with the same period last year.
Police officials have attributed the turnaround in part to improved community involvement and closer cooperation with other law enforcement agencies.
The year with the pace of killings through the first few months threatening to eclipse the 15-year high set in 2021. Through April 30, there were 122 homicides in L.A., including the orchestrated shooting of a man by a suspect who police say flew in from Texas and the death of a man gunned down at a cemetery.
