VIOLENCE SPIKE: Homicide numbers up during past year in Stowe, McKees Rocks

With violent crime soaring throughout the region and the nation at-large, a disproportionate number of homicides have taken place within the communities of Stowe and McKees Rocks since the beginning of 2021.

Data released by Allegheny County Dec. 1 show since January 2021 total county homicides have already exceeded the annual totals for any of the previous five years. Of those 115 homicides recorded this year, 10 took place in McKees Rocks or Stowe, a combined area of less than 12,000 residents or approximately 1% of the county population.

A study published in May by the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice found average homicide rates across 34 American cities had risen 24% between March 2020 and 2021.

Homicides have also taken place in Coraopolis (1) Ingram (1), Kennedy (1) and Moon (1) since January 2021.