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In case you missed it the numbers are in for homicides that occurred in the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding Allegheny County. Homicides in the city of Pittsburgh dropped by more than a quarter in 2019, and were tied at the lowest the city has recorded since 1998 (when much of the gang violence of the early 90’s was resolved). However, parts of Allegheny County such as Wilkinsburg, Penn Hills, areas in the Mon Valley/Turtle Creek Valley and other Eastern Suburbs and Stowe-Rocks led the county to surpass numbers in the city. With 59 homicides occurring outside the city limits. So don’t just get caught up in the headline that Pittsburgh hit a two decade low in murders. Homicide numbers haven’t “dropped” they just moved, and essentially reversed places with the numbers in municipalities outside the city limits!
The Pittsburgh Courier hasn't updated for year end yet, but you can clearly see this is a black on black matter almost exclusively as of the end of November 73 of 89 homicides were black. Not sure if most all are in the drug trade or not? I really haven't been watching the hyped up news much anymore for health reasons, but yearend statistics are interesting. You can read more about this year here.
I didn't find statistics for Allegheny County homicide by year that was up to date to understand if there are actually less murders in our region or if it is just following black migration? What is the county trend? I feel for these poorer neighboring communities that have $10 an hour cops with very little backup trying to start their career in law enforcement. There are lots of them making that out there.
I hope 2020 is a better year and we at least see the city trend lower yet. I also hope the county trend is going down, but I don't know that. I could maybe piece it together later.
The Pittsburgh Courier hasn't updated for year end yet, but you can clearly see this is a black on black matter almost exclusively as of the end of November 73 of 89 homicides were black. Not sure if most all are in the drug trade or not? I really haven't been watching the hyped up news much anymore for health reasons, but yearend statistics are interesting. You can read more about this year here.
Yes indeed, I’m familiar with the New Pittsburgh Courier (was once pictured in it). Another non-biased and in-depth analysis will probably come from them and Pittsburgh’s PublicSource.
Yes indeed this clearly a Black matter, but your post is missing other identifying factors. This is a predominantly low-income Black matter (although there were a few low income White victims). Within the low-income/working-class Black community it’s primarily between career criminals opposed to law-abiding and tax-paying citizens. However, it’s not solely the case. Many of these cases are more than just countless Black bodies who deserved what was coming and were ultimately struck down by gunfire from other fellow Black career criminals.
There was a pastor killed while overnight operating Pleasant Valley Men's Shelter on Brighton Road (California-Kirkbride, Northside). There was an 18-year old bi-racial girl killed days before graduation by a stray bullet in the South Side Flats. There was an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer killed allegedly trying to break-up a dispute in the middle of the street in Homewood North. There was an Allderdice soccer-playing, 16-year old, AP student from Stanton Heights killed in an exchange of gunfire in Homewood South. There was a 17-year old girl who wanted to be a pediatrician, an innocent bystander killed in a double homicide on her birthday attending what her mother said was the first party she ever attended, a graduation party on McNeil Place Upper Hill when a 19-yr old rapper was also shot and killed (probably intended target). 72-year old man who died after being hit in the previous year by a stray bullet in the R.B. Harrison Village housing projects of McKeesport. An 85-year old man was killed inside a corner store in North Braddock. A tattoo artist who was killed after giving a tattoo in Stowe Township. Two women were killed in double homicides in Homewood South and Wilkinsburg being at the wrong place with the wrong people respectively. Several men and women throughout the county were killed in domestic disputes, home invasions and love triangles. Former Pitt Basketball/NBA-star’s father was killed in an argument in Wilkinsburg. As about a dozen or more other 2019 homicides were the results of bar fights, fist fights, house party fights and arguments turning deadly with shootings, stabbings and beatings to death (people are solving arguments/fights with guns/death nowadays)...
Last edited by Uptown kid; 01-03-2020 at 09:46 AM..
Yes indeed, I’m familiar with the New Pittsburgh Courier (was once pictured in it). Another non-biased and in-depth analysis will probably come from them and Pittsburgh’s PublicSource.
Yes indeed this clearly a Black matter, but your post is missing other identifying factors. This is a predominantly low-income Black matter (although there were a few low income White victims). Within the low-income/working-class Black community it’s primarily between career criminals opposed to law-abiding and tax-paying citizens. However, it’s not solely the case. Many of these cases are more than just countless Black bodies who deserved what was coming and were ultimately struck down by gunfire from other fellow Black career criminals.
There was a pastor killed while overnight operating Pleasant Valley Men's Shelter on Brighton Road (California-Kirkbride, Northside). There was an 18-year old bi-racial girl killed days before graduation by a stray bullet in the South Side Flats. There was an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer killed allegedly trying to break-up a dispute in the middle of the street in Homewood North. There was an Allderdice soccer-playing, 16-year old, AP student from Stanton Heights killed in an exchange of gunfire in Homewood South. There was a 17-year old girl who wanted to be a pediatrician, an innocent bystander killed in a double homicide on her birthday attending what her mother said was the first party she ever attended, a graduation party on McNeil Place Upper Hill when a 19-yr old rapper was also shot and killed (probably intended target). 72-year old man who died after being hit last year by a stray bullet in the R.B. Harrison Village housing projects of McKeesport. An 85-year old man was killed inside a corner store in North Braddock. A tattoo artist who was killed after giving a tattoo in Stowe Township. Two women were killed in double homicides in Homewood South and Wilkinsburg being at the wrong place with the wrong people respectively. Several men and women throughout the county were killed in domestic disputes, home invasions and love triangles. Former Pitt Basketball/NBA-star’s father was killed in an argument in Wilkinsburg. As about a dozen or more other 2019 homicides were the results of bar fights, fist fights, house party fights and arguments turning deadly with shootings, stabbings and beatings to death (people are solving arguments/fights with guns/death nowadays)...
Thanks. I don't follow the news much as I stated and you filled in the blanks for yearend statistics to get a clearer picture. I suspect most white people glaze over and just assume 90% of it is black on black drug crime and if you aren't in the drug trade you have nothing to worry about. I do remember that girl in the South Side. That was so sad!!! I don't remember much else. Just had enough of how new channels report things in this new style to create outrage or and "I told you so" response. Very unhealthy for the human mind to crush yourself with all this daily.
Hope 2020 is a better year. I still wonder if murders are down in Allegheny County or not? What is the trend in our metro? Is the overall murder rate going down or staying the same? I don't think it is going up.
I didn't find statistics for Allegheny County homicide by year that was up to date to understand if there are actually less murders in our region or if it is just following black migration? What is the county trend? I feel for these poorer neighboring communities that have $10 an hour cops with very little backup trying to start their career in law enforcement. There are lots of them making that out there.
I hope 2020 is a better year and we at least see the city trend lower yet. I also hope the county trend is going down, but I don't know that. I could maybe piece it together later.
Several of the homicide victims from 2010–2019 were my peers and many were in my generation. Here’s a little talked about truth… Violent crime spikes and declines when it comes to homicides are due generational age factors.
~ In the 90’s it was mostly the late 60’s and 70’s babies misguided, frustrated and societally failed in deindustrialized, ghettos going to urban warfare with the arrival of crack cocaine, Bloods, Crips, the Eastside’s LAWs, Northside’s Original Gangsters/Gangsters, Westside’s Convictz and lesser extent independent gangs in public housing complexes of Duquesne/Clairton/McKees Rocks Terrace.
~ 2000’s: it was late 70’s and 80’s babies dying after a local gang resurgence due to individuals returning from 10-year War on Drugs prison bids.
~ 2010’s: it was mostly late 80’s and 90’s babies killing each other due to a gang scene without hierarchy and was exacerbated by the exploitation of the major heroin/opioid epidemic.
~ 2020’s: at some point it will be the late 90’s and 2000’s babies killing one another due to both contemporary factors and a continued legacy started in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Thus violence has been in decline since 2014 in the city of Pittsburgh as (1) the statistical one percent who commit around 70% have died off, are incarcerated, are under intense police surveillance, or moved on from the lifestyle. (2) Better community police relations, shot spotter, and GVI police unit.
(3) For several reasons (gentrification, public housing demolition, depopulation/exodus of abandoned/ statistically high murder rate/ long-standing ghettos, more money in racially-mixed newer ghettos of the heroin/opioid epidemic, less GVI police presence/shot spotter/weaker police departments) the 1% who cause 70% of the violence are moving out of their traditional turfs within the city of Pittsburgh. Violence is rising where they are relocating. In Mt. Oliver (borough), the borough of McKees Rocks and nearby Stowe Township and Eastern Suburbs / Mon Valley.
Specifically the rough parts of the borough of Wilkinsburg and the municipality of Penn Hills (and soon to be Monroeville). The Mon Valley small cities of Clairton, Duquesne and McKeesport; Mon Valley boroughs of Braddock, North Braddock, Rankin, the southern portion of Swissvale, along with Homestead/nearby Munhall, parts of West Mifflin (Mon View Heights, Mifflin Estates and to a lesser extent the Homerville/Terrace neighborhoods and portion bordering Duquesne) and parts of North Versailles Township (Crestas Terrace and various apartment complexes of the Green Valley/Fite Station area). As of late 2010’s, even the Turtle Creek Valley (i.e. boroughs of East Pittsburgh, Pitcairn, Turtle Creek, Wilmerding and various apartment complexes of the West Wilmerding area of North Versailles Township).
See Pittsburgh Is Rapidly Losing Black Residents, Population Estimates Show
Last edited by Uptown kid; 01-03-2020 at 09:49 AM..
Hope 2020 is a better year. I still wonder if murders are down in Allegheny County or not? What is the trend in our metro? Is the overall murder rate going down or staying the same? I don't think it is going up.
Murders are down in the county due to murders being down in the city. However, murders outside the city are up in the county.
In the metro places such as sections of Aliquippa, Arnold, New Kensington, Uniontown/East Uniontown and Washington have violent issues of their own. Parts of Ambridge, Beaver Falls, Donora, Monessen and [South] Jennette have them as well (to a lesser extent). From the places above and other’s nearby drug trafficking spills into lesser declining towns such as the following: Baden, Brownsville, Charleroi, Connellsville, Ellwood City, Fayette City, Irwin, Midland, New Brighton, Rochester, Vandergrift, etc., making them at-risk as well. It’s harder to find data online on counties outside Allegheny in the metro so idk the exact numbers in the trends...
Looking at the map, what strikes me is how much the Southern Hilltop has quieted down. One murder in Allentown, and one in Arlington Heights, and that's it. Duquesne Heights had more murders than anywhere in the Southern Hilltop!
The whole city south of the Mon/Ohio only had 7 murders. North Side also had 7, which is more of an average year. Downtown had 2, Hill District 5, Lower East End 2, Garfield 2, and "Greater Homewood" 11.
From what I can see only four white people were killed in the city last year, all of which were "white on white" encounters - a 90 year old shot in his car in Greenfield so a drifter-type could steal his watch/ring, a landlord shot in Garfield when involved in a rent dispute with a tenant, someone who died in a hotel room following a fistfight downtown, and a 16 year old apparently accidentally shot by an 18 year old friend in Duquesne Heights. Every other victim was black.
Looking at the map, what strikes me is how much the Southern Hilltop has quieted down. One murder in Allentown, and one in Arlington Heights, and that's it. Duquesne Heights had more murders than anywhere in the Southern Hilltop!
The whole city south of the Mon/Ohio only had 7 murders. North Side also had 7, which is more of an average year. Downtown had 2, Hill District 5, Lower East End 2, Garfield 2, and "Greater Homewood" 11.
From what I can see only four white people were killed in the city last year, all of which were "white on white" encounters - a 90 year old shot in his car in Greenfield so a drifter-type could steal his watch/ring, a landlord shot in Garfield when involved in a rent dispute with a tenant, someone who died in a hotel room following a fistfight downtown, and a 16 year old apparently accidentally shot by an 18 year old friend in Duquesne Heights. Every other victim was black.
Right two things haven’t changed the stark differences in murders between Black and non-Black/Whites in city and where the murders are occurring within the city (the big three: Homewood/Zone 5, Northside and the Hill District).
Long-time gang neighborhoods of (1) “Zone 5-Eastside” i.e. Homewood-Brushton, Larimer, what’s left of East Liberty bordering Larimer, whats left of Garfield - north of Broad Street, but surprisingly none in Lincoln-Lemington, 7200 Everton Street Homewood North Apts in Belmar or the East Hills Apartments (although there was one isolated homicide near the Wilkinsburg border) unlike 2018. Changes may come slowly to Homewood South given some of its worst blocks: Panke Ave, 7300 Fleury Way, 7300/7500 Formosa Way, 7500 Susquehanna Street, 7600 Tioga Street, 600 Collier Street and 500 Rosedale Street have been redevelop or demolished. Meanwhile, the current worst blocks: 7300-7600 Kelly Street, 7300/7500 Hamilton Avenue and 500 Cora Street are largely vacant/boarded up. 500 North Homewood Avenue/Clawson Street, Park Lane Drive, Finance Street and 7200-7400 Tioga/Susquehanna Streets are redeveloped as well (near the busway). Bringing signs of revitalization to the city’s long-time worst/second oldest ghetto. Even Westinghouse Park and Homewood Playground are cleaned up and DownTown Homewood Crip gang mural free.
(2) The Zone 1-Northside, although it’s mainly contained to the Upper North Side. Perry Hilltop, Three Rivers Manor (formerly Spring Hill Gardens) and Woods Run on the border of southwest Brighton Heights and Marshall-Shadeland had all the homicides except where the pastor was killed. As California-Kirkbride and Allegheny Commons East Apts in Allegheny Center have quieted down. Central Northside and Manchester are gentrifying. Allegheny Dwellings is closing down, Sandusky Court is now Sandstone Quarry Mixed-Income Apts and Belleau Drive will be next. Northview Heights Estates public housing complex is benefiting by increased community police and influx of foreign refugees.
(3) The Hill District (Zone 2). Although once the last public housing project Bedford Dwellings (mainly at Chauncey Drive) closes it will be much quieter. The homicide on the 2100 block of Bedford Ave was arguably self-defense and may be proven in court. The other three (one on Centre Avenue of elderly man and the double homicide in Upper Hill) were isolated incidents. The Hill District is poised to receive millions of dollars in development grants so changes will come. Blocks of Uptown / Bluff have gotten sketchier due to displacement changes in the Hill but it’s isolated and not too much violence has come out of it.
Zone 3: Allentown and whats left Arlington Heights may become quieter due to businesses returning to East Warrington Avenue and Duquesne students moving near Arlington, along with joint local and federal indictments of the two major Zone 3 street gangs Zhoove Crips of Beltzhoover, Allentown and part of Upper Knoxville west of Knox Ave and the Darccide Crips also known as “Smash Gang” or “44 Gang” originally of St. Clair Village relocated to most of Knoxville, Mt. Oliver Borough and scattered in Carrick and units of Arlington Heights.
Zone 4: Hazelwood and Glen Hazel changes are being made. The famous Dairy Mart has been demolished, green space is on the 4800 of 2nd Avenue where the Hazelwood Mob Crips used to dominate in the early-mid 90’s. Hazelwood Green will be developed. Glen Hazel Heights is now privately-owned, renovate and may become mixed-income. South Oakland around the Frazier Street playground & 3200 Ward Street is shrinking. West Oakland near Terrace Village (which is quieter since the redevelopment of Allequippa and Addison Terraces) is increasingly becoming Pitt and Carlow occupied and De Ruad Street (formerly SoHo area) has cleaned up since the multi-unit fire.
Zone 6: In the West End of Pittsburgh the Greenway Boy Killaz aka “GBK” street gang of Mountain-View Apts (formerly called the Greenway Park Apts) and adjacent Crafton Heights Townhomes (by way of Broadhead Manor snd Westgate Village) were indicted with I think the RICO Act. This should make it less violent for Crafton Heights, what’s left of Fairywood west of the park, Sheraden, Elliott, etc., until one of their allies or rivals arises in the power vacuum (causing them to likely one day be indicted themselves then).
Last edited by Uptown kid; 01-03-2020 at 11:57 AM..
Murders are down in the county due to murders being down in the city. However, murders outside the city are up in the county.
In the metro places such as sections of Aliquippa, Arnold, New Kensington, Uniontown/East Uniontown and Washington have violent issues of their own. Parts of Ambridge, Beaver Falls, Donora, Monessen and [South] Jennette have them as well (to a lesser extent). From the places above and other’s nearby drug trafficking spills into lesser declining towns such as the following: Baden, Brownsville, Charleroi, Connellsville, Ellwood City, Fayette City, Irwin, Midland, New Brighton, Rochester, Vandergrift, etc., making them at-risk as well. It’s harder to find data online on counties outside Allegheny in the metro so idk the exact numbers in the trends...
Irwin you think? with how up and coming North Huntingdon has been lately.
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