Baltimore Ends 2018 With 309 Homicides; I-Team Breaks Out Statistics

A breakdown of Baltimore City's 2018 homicides shows the steep challenge of reducing violent crime.

The city ended the year with 309 homicides. In the vast majority of cases, both victim and suspect were already known to the criminal justice system. Some victims had been shot before and were lucky enough to survive only to be fatally shot in 2018.

Other details give police commanders reason to stay the course on strategy.

Baltimore homicide No. 304 came Christmas night. A man identified as Marquis Richardson was fatally shot while sitting in a car on the lot of a gas station in northwest Baltimore. Richardson, also known as "Bullet," had a long criminal history of gun violations and drug trafficking. His arrest history was very much the norm among the 309 people in Baltimore's 2018 homicide count.

"Today's suspect is tomorrow's victim and vice versa," Interim Baltimore Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle said.

According to a breakdown of the 2018 homicides as prepared by Baltimore police, 84 percent of the victims had arrest records, 86 percent of the suspects have arrest records and half of them had prior arrests for violent crimes.

Some victims who died -- 19 percent -- had been shot before and survived.

Gun use dominated as handguns were used in 271 of the homicides.

Tuggle said 13 of last year's homicides were people who died in 2018 but were wounded in years before, which drops the actual 2018 incidents to 296. Tuggle looks at that as evidence the current strategy -- of involving all city agencies in a crime-reduction effort -- is working.

"I feel like we are on the right trajectory. The pace is not as fast as I would like, certainly, but I have always said this isn't going to be cured overnight. We need to continually assess what we do and how we do it, and then make adjustments as needed," Tuggle said.

Each year's homicide count includes the deaths of people who were victims in prior year cases, but the 2018 number of 13 was the highest of the past five years.

In 2018, Baltimore recorded 309 homicides. Thirteen victims had been wounded in previous years but were added to the homicide count because they died in 2018.

In 2017, Baltimore recorded 342 homicides. Ten were added from previous years.

In 2016, Baltimore recorded 318 homicides. Four were added from previous years.

In 2015, Baltimore recorded 342 homicides. Three were added from previous years.

2018 Homicide Statistics

Homicide clearance rate: 43.4 percent

Homicide cases closed from prior years: 52

Homicide victims with previous arrest records: 83.8 percent

Homicide victims with previous gun crime arrests: 48.5 percent

Homicide victims who were on parole/probation at the time of death: 24.9 percent

Homicide victims who had been previously shot in a nonfatal shooting: 19.4 percent

Homicide suspects with previous arrest records: 85.6 percent

Homicide suspects with previous gun crime arrests: 44.4 percent

Homicide suspects who were on parole/probation at the time of incident: 30 percent