Indianapolis Murder Outbreak Double Number In Chicago
By John Dodge
CHICAGO (CBS) -- If somebody told you that Indianapolis has seen more murders than Chicago in the past few days, would you believe it?
It's true. Way more.
Chicago's national reputation as a murder-plagued city is well-documented, but a recent outbreak of violence in Indianapolis has been twice as deadly.
Chicago has recorded a total of four homicides since Friday.
As many as eight people were murdered in Indy over the same time period.
Indianapolis police are awaiting for the coroner's report, but the discovery of a body in an East Side apartment building on Wednesday morning has all the markings of a murder. If confirmed, it would be the eighth murder in just over five days.
According to the Indianapolis Star, police received reports of gunshots in the area around 7 a.m.
The body, which had signs of trauma, was found about 2.5 hours later.
So far in 2014, there have been 41 murders in Indianapolis, putting the city on pace for more than 160. Through March, Chicago Police have recorded 62 murders for the year--the lowest first-quarter total since 1958.
In 2013, Indianapolis police said the city recorded its highest murder rate in seven years, according to media reports. A total of 124 people were murdered, putting its homicide rate at 17 per 100,000 people.
By comparison, Chicago had 415 murders in 2013, for a rate of 15 per 100,000. While murders were at their lowest level since the mid-1960s, Chicago is still more violent in terms of murders than Los Angeles and New York.
Note: The original story incorrectly referenced Indianapolis as "nap city" because nothing ever happened there. It has been removed.