There were 56 reported homicides in Pittsburgh last year, an increase by five from 2020, when nationwide killings surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Black people accounted for the vast majority of homicide victims, with 48 of the people killed last year being Black, according to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s annual report. Thirty-nine of them were male, and nine were female victims.

With Black people representing nearly 70% of those killed by homicide, the data shows a major disparity in homicide victims, since Black people make up just 23% of the city’s population, according to Census data.

Five of the victims were white and male, the PBP data says. One Hispanic man and one white woman were also among those who died by homicide.

Three of the victims — two white boys and a Black girl — were a year old or younger.

The vast majority of the killings were done with a firearm, with gun deaths making up 89% of the data. The rest were done by beating, car, fall, fentanyl, hands and a table leg, with each method accounting for one killing, the report says.

Gun violence peaked in the summer, with 24 total shootings in June, but the deadliest month of 2021 was April, with 10 reported homicides.

August saw 9 gun violence deaths, but June and July saw just four and three, respectively, which were comparable to winter months.

Shootings were also up overall. The PBP reported 162 non-fatal shootings last year, compared to 136 in 2020 and 109 in 2019. There were 216 victims of gun violence last year; some incidents resulted in multiple victims.

Gun violence was prevalent throughout the year, although some media reports focused on spikes in the summer; November had 22 shootings, and there were 21 in April.

Seventy of the victims were in the 25-34 age group, and 64 of them were between the ages of 18 and 24. The data shows a sharp drop as the ages climb: 30 people fell into the 35-44 group, and people aged 45-54 made up 14 of the victims.

Reported rapes also increased from 35 in 2020 to 46 last year. But other crimes saw decreases: robberies were down from 478 to 471. Burglaries dropped from 947 to 769, and assaults went down from 815 to 808.

Mick Stinelli: mstinelli@post-gazette.com

First Published: May 12, 2022, 5:18 p.m.
Updated: May 13, 2022, 10:09 a.m.