Cook County tops 1,000 homicides in ’21 with full month left

The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Cook County has recorded more than 1,000 homicides in a year for the first time in more than a quarter of a century, the county’s Medical Examiner’s Office said.

As of Tuesday, the county’s homicide total stood at 1,009, with a full month left in the year. Of those, 927 were gun-related and 777 occurred in Chicago.

The last time Cook County had more than 1,000 homicides in one year was 1994, when the county recorded 1,141. The record for Cook County is 1,229 homicides in 1991.

Cook County had 986 homicides last year, a 40% increase over 2019’s total of 675.

The vast majority of the homicide victims have been Black, with 81% of the victims identified as African American, the Medical Examiner’s office said. Latinos accounted for just under 15% of victims. The oldest victim so far this year was 84, and the youngest was 1 month old.