City officials outline efforts to stem gun violence surge

PHILADELPHIA >> Philadelphia officials held the first of a series of planned biweekly briefings on efforts to stem surging violence in the city, which has seen a drastic increase this year in the already near-historic level of homicides in the city and has claimed the lives of a number of young people.

Mayor Jim Kenney, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and other officials spoke Wednesday of efforts to get illegal firearms off the streets, increase patrols and engage with community groups to work with young people to try to head off potential violence.

“We are all responsible for what goes on here,” Outlaw said. “This is our community, and these are our children.”

She said there were 412 shooting victims so far this year, and the 103 homicides so far represented a increase of more than 30% over the level last year, which saw a near-record 499 homicides in the city. Officials said the most common homicide motives were arguments, drugs and domestic disputes, the last one up 33%.

Outlaw earlier vowed beefed-up patrols in troubled areas, and officials said Wednesday they planned extra deployments around pools and recreation centers with the approach of warm weather, when violence traditionally increases in the city.

Kenney said 2021 “is on track to be the most violent year we’ve experienced in our lifetimes.”

“It makes me absolutely sick to know so many Philadelphians have suffered these preventable deaths, and so many families and communities have been ripped apart in the wake of each loss,” he said. “It’s painfully clear that we must take new approaches.”