ALLEGHENY COUNTY — Some not-so-good news to start the year. We’re learning homicides rose in Allegheny County in 2022.
There were 129 for the year and nearly a quarter of the victims were under the age of 20.
According to the county medical examiner’s office, 32 total cases involved victims 19 years old and younger.
It’s the most in the last 15 years, per county statistics. The numbers are available online back through 2007. Since then, there have not been more than 120 homicides in any given year, until now.
One hundred five of the victims were black, and 24 were white.
We took our findings to Pittsburghers like Greg Nevels. He says he’s worked with youth for more than 30 years.
“Well, I know one thing with guns. We’ve got to do something better, the lawmakers, with gun control,” he said. “Some of these kids are out here selling drugs. They’re selling drugs because they help pay bills.”
Kelly McCloskey is a mother who tells us she worries about her son every day.
“I think more has to be done with communicating,” she said. “Being nicer to people. Being more patient. I wish I had a magic wand.”
The numbers also show the winter months had the fewest homicides while the two months with the most deaths were June and October with 14 each.
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