As killings rise in many cities, St. Louis sees big decline
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press
In a year when many U.S. cities saw a substantial increase in killings, St. Louis bucked the trend in 2021. That’s a dose of good news for a city that for decades has had among the worst murder rates in the nation. The number of killings in St. Louis dropped 25% to 196 in 2021 compared to 263 in 2020. It marks a return to pre-COVID-19 levels. St. Louis police recorded 194 killings in 2019 and 186 in 2018. At a news conference Thursday, Mayor Tishaura Jones, Public Safety Director Dan Isom and others credited a focus on preventing violence before it happens.
