Edmonton is 10 shy of its record 48 homicides in a single year, with more than three months left to hit or surpass the historic high set in 2011.

"This is September. The clock is ticking," retired University of Alberta criminologist Keith Spencer says of the city's 38 homicides so far this year. "We're going to be close."

Although Edmonton regularly takes the dubious distinction of murder capital, or comes close, Spencer says the number of homicides remains low.

"I'm not saying it's nice to have these numbers, but I don’t think they're unreasonable or that anyone has to be living in fear," he said.

Spencer isn't perplexed by Edmonton's homicide figures simply because of the number of risk factors among the city's population, compounded by the fact the city is surrounded by jails.

"The vast majority of releases in the Edmonton area take up residency here. They are high risk ... and they form a pool of prospective difficult people," he said.

"Occasionally there's a domestic situation where someone kills their wife and three kids, but generally speaking, over the long term, we've got an economic situation and population demographic that suggests we can expect a lot of murders."

The latest slayings

The Edmonton Police Service says there has been 35 homicides this year, but it doesn't count two police shootings and a fatal hit-and-run where charges were dropped.

Edmonton police declined to comment on homicide numbers.

Edmonton's most recent killing was declared a homicide Friday, bringing the total number to 38. Nexhmi (Nick) Nuhi, 76, was shot through the outside basement door of his Alberta Avenue rooming house on Wednesday.

There have been six other homicides since the beginning of August.

1) Date: Aug. 2

Name: Unnamed male, 49.

Cause of death: Stabbed in Highlands.

Status: William John Robert Monkman, 33, wanted for second-degree murder.

A 49-year-old man was stabbed in the are of 118 Avenue and 54 Street on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017.

2) Date: Aug. 5

Name: Peter Penac, 31.

Cause of death: Shot while sitting inside his white Lexus in the residential neighbourhood of Athlone.

Status: Investigation ongoing.

Edmonton police investigate a shooting near 130 Street and 129 Avenue on Sunday, August 6, 2017. The shooting took place around 10 p.m. Saturday night.

3) Date: Aug. 22

Name: Hunter Brown, five months.

Cause of death: Died from smoke inhalation after his home was set on fire in Ambleside, in the city's southwest.

Status: Bronson Woycenko, 19, charged with second-degree murder, arson and disregard for human life. Jessica Tammerand, 18, charged with arson and disregard for human life.

Five-month-old Hunter who died in a house fire in Edmonton.

4) Date: Aug. 26

Name: Shardi Abdi Hassan, 23.

Cause of death: Shot. Found slumped in a taxi outside Flux Ultra Lounge.

Status: Investigation ongoing.

Edmonton Police Service detectives and officers investigate after a suspicious death outside of Flux Ultra Lounge at 142 Street and Yellowhead Trail after a male victim was found slumped over in the front seat of a taxi in Edmonton, Alberta on Saturday, August 26, 2017.

5) Date: Aug. 31

Name: Valerie Maurice, 29.

Cause of death: Strangled in an Evansdale apartment.

Status: Gregory Christopher Tessman, 49, was arrested in Vancouver and charged with second-degree murder.

Valerie Maurice was found dead on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017.

6) Date: Sept. 9.

Name: Matt Dumas, 30.

Cause of death: Shot by police in the Westmount McDonald's parking lot.

Status: The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), which investigates officer-involved shootings, is looking into the death.

Matt Dumas, 30, was fatally shot by police on Sept. 9, 2017, in the parking lot of the Westmount McDonald's restaurant at 11260 Groat Rd. in Edmonton, Alta.

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Editor's note: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the number of homicides in 2011 (48).