The number of shooting victims in Chicago increased by nearly 88 percent in August 2020 compared with August 2019, according to Chicago Police Department crime statistics released Tuesday.
In August, 503 people were shot and 63 were killed in Chicago, compared with 268 shooting victims and 49 fatalities in August 2019. While murders declined 45 percent from July—the city's deadliest month since 1992—and 35 percent from June, the city's year-to-date murder rate is 49 percent higher than 2019.
National police data indicate that a spike in crime began earlier this summer alongside anti-police protests, the Washington Free Beacon reported last month. Nearly 75 percent of major cities, including Chicago, have experienced double-digit increases in murder rates.
According to the recently released data, 744 more shootings occurred between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 this year than within the first eight months of 2019, resulting in nearly 1,000 more shooting victims in the same time frame.
Unrest in Chicago began in May following the death of George Floyd. Rioters have on multiple occasions swarmed the city to vandalize businesses—recently, hundreds caravaned into the city's downtown area to loot stores along the city's Magnificent Mile after rumors spread that police had fatally shot a 15-year-old.