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Report: Indiana Ranks Fifth Worst For Black Homicides

By Jill Sheridan, IPB News | Published on in Crime, Health, Statewide News
(Pixabay)
(Pixabay)

A new report from the Violence Policy Center, or VPC, finds Indiana has the fifth worst rate of African American homicides in the nation.

Numbers show that in 2016, Indiana had 205 black homicide victims.  93 percent of them died as a result of guns.

VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann says the violence associated with these deaths is traumatizing families and communities.

“And that’s an issue that often not discussed and may have the most impact in the long term on those who survive such violence,” says Sugarmann.

The annual report aims to educate the public and policymakers.

Another group trying to do that is Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence.  The group’s Edmund Smith says the state is too gun-friendly.

“Indiana has truly easy access, our cities are awash in guns,” says Smith.

Indiana has been ranked among the top ten states with the highest rates of black homicides almost every year since the report started in 2007.