State & Region Glance
Babies die in separate cases in Phoenix, Mesa
MESA — Authorities are investigating the deaths of two babies in separate cases in Phoenix and Mesa.
City fire officials said a 7-month-old boy was found unresponsive in the parking lot of a Mesa mall around 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Crews responded to a call of an infant not breathing call and the child was taken to a local hospital where the boy was pronounced dead.
Mesa police said the infant was found alone in a parked car in the mall parking lot and the engine was not running,
The mother of the infant allegedly spent about two hours in the mall, but police have not filed any charges yet.
Meanwhile, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office is trying to determine the cause of death of a baby at a Phoenix apartment complex.
City fire crews responded to a call of a 15-month-old child not breathing at the complex Friday.
Authorities said an initial investigation showed no signs of trauma to the baby.
Albuquerque sets record number of homicides this year
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With more than four months remaining, Albuquerque has already had a record number of homicides this year within the city limits.
City police said the homicide total hit 81 early Sunday. The previous record was set in 2019 when there were 80 homicides in Albuquerque.
The total dropped to 77 in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the city isn’t alone in seeing a tremendous spike in violence in 2021.
Data released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association showed that in the first six months of 2021, 45 cities out of the 66 that responded to a survey saw more homicides than in the first six month of 2019.
The percentages range from a 12% increase in Kansas City, Missouri to a 350% increase in Mesa, Arizona.
Tucson has seen 57 homicides so far this year, compared with 34 at this time last year. According to Tucson police, the city’s highest number of homicides was 74 in 2009 and the department expects to surpass that total this year.
Navajo Nation: No COVID deaths for 8th day in row
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation on Sunday reported 18 more COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths for the eighth consecutive day.
The additional cases increased the tribe’s pandemic total to at least 31,635 while the number of known deaths remained 1,377.
The Navajo Nation reservation is the country’s largest at 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) and it covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
“Through contact tracing, the experts are finding that the majority of new COVID-19 cases here on the Navajo Nation are due to social/family gatherings where people let their guard down around family members and close friends,” tribal President Jonathan Nez said in a statement Sunday.