San Jose's Homicide Rate Up As It Falls In San Francisco & Oakland
SAN JOSE (KCBS) -- It doesn't happen very often, but homicides in the Bay Area's three largest cities are at about the same level, and while that's good news for Oakland and San Francisco, it's bad news for San Jose.
So far this year, San Jose has seen 24 murders - more than twice as many as there were this time last year. The most recent killing involved a brazen daylight shooting near San Jose State.
"There's no question we are high right now. We've got a lot of work to do. But I think that if you look at the aggregate annually, you'll get a little clearer picture," Mayor Sam Liccardo told KCBS.
He says the city averages 30 to 40 homicides every year.
Police Chief Eddie Garcia cautions against judging the city too harshly based on the number of homicides. He told the Mercury News more than a third of San Jose's murders in 2016 involved domestic conflicts, co-worker disputes and one that was in self-defense.
Meanwhile, the murder rate is down so far this year in San Francisco and Oakland, which have seen 26 and 28 homicides respectively.