Cook County has recorded more than 900 homicides this year, the second time the county has surpassed the grim milestone in nearly 25 years.
The last time the county surpassed 900 homicides in a year was in 2016. That year, the county saw 921 homicides, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
This year, of the 902 homicides confirmed between Jan. 1, and Nov. 30, more than 78% of victims were Black and 16% were Latino, the medical examiner’s office said.
At least 719 of the total homicides have taken place in Chicago, according to records kept by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Shooting incidents accounted for 810 of those killed in Cook County in 2020, the medical examiner’s office said. About 89% of homicide victims were males.
In all of 2019, Cook County saw 675 homicides, the medical examiner’s office said.
Cook County also recorded over 900 homicides in 1994 and 1995, the medical examiner’s office said.
