Except for this brief introduction, this entire post is quoted from an article dated Friday, January 15 by Jess Bidgood that was published in Sunday’s New York Times. We’re going to give you the section headings. You can use this link to see the entire article. No commentary could make these data more profound or urgent in their implications for what Baltimore needs to do.

“The Numbers Behind Baltimore’s Record Year in Homicides”
Jess Bidgood, The New York Times, January 15, 2016.

55
The per-capita murder rate, a city record, for every 100,000 residents.

344
The number of Baltimore homicides in 2015, a 63 percent increase over 2014.

72 percent
The increase in nonfatal shootings in 2015.

93 percent
The share of homicide victims in Baltimore who were Black.

30.5 percent
The percentage of homicides solved by the Police in 2015.

87 percent
The hare of 2015 homicides committed with firearms.

45 homicides in July
Baltimore’s deadliest month in decades.