Portland sets new record: 93 homicides so far this year

(DECEMBER 2, 2022) Last week, Portland set a new record: the most homicides in a year. And the year is not yet over. With one more month to go, the number may still increase.

On November 23, 2022, a person was shot and killed in the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood of Southeast Portland. He was the 93rd person to be killed in Portland this year. That is a new record. 92 people were killed in Portland in 2021. The previous record, however, was 70 in 1987.

An increase in gun violence is one major cause for this increase. Most homicides were from shootings -- some by criminals and some by police. According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, for example, the 93 deaths in 2022 so far include "four people who were shot by Portland police and a man killed by a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office deputy during a pursuit into Portland."

Across the country, the homicide rate had dropped 50% from 1991 to 2014. By 2020, it had increased 30%. Currently, homicides around the country number about 6.8 per 100,000 people. In Portland, the number is much higher: 15.6 per 100,000 people.