Police Say Chicago Homicides Climbed Dramatically in January

Chicago police are reporting a dramatic spike in the number of homicides and shootings in the city’s bloodiest January for at least 16 years.

In this Jan. 19, 2016 photo, Chicago police investigate the scene where multiple people were shot on the city’s South Side. Chicago police said Monday, Feb. 1, 2016, the number of homicides in the city climbed dramatically in January to 51, in the bloodiest start to a year in at least 16 years. They said there were 22 more homicides this January than in January 2015 and that the number of shooting incidents during the same period more than doubled to 242. Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune via AP

CHICAGO—Chicago police are reporting a dramatic spike in the number of homicides and shootings in the city’s bloodiest January for at least 16 years. It’s another blow to a department that has struggled to regain public trust following the damning release of a video showing a white officer fatally shooting a black teenager.

In statistics released Monday, the Chicago Police Department reported there were 51 homicides last month compared to 29 in January of last year. Also, the number of shooting incidents and total shooting victims more than doubled; there 242 shooting incidents compared to 119 such incidents recorded in January 2015, and 292 shooting victims including the 51 who died, compared to 136 in the same month last year.

Latonya Jones, 19, holds a photo of her mother, Bettie Jones, during a vigil on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015, in Chicago. Jones was killed early Saturday by police responding to a domestic disturbance on the city's West Side, police said. Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP