HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point Police say there were 20 homicides in High Point last year.
There have been 16 criminal homicides so far in 2019.
Police say almost 300 firearms have been seized, and the year isn't over yet.
The reason we're telling you these numbers? Every time we post a story on social media that references violence in High Point, we've seen your comments. Many call High Point a "Little Chicago," a city known for its violence.
WFMY News 2's Jess Winters is verifying whether that statement is true or false.
"Have you heard that phrase before, 'little Chicago?'" Jess Winters asked High Point resident C.J. Bethea.
"Yeah I’ve been hearing it since I was a little kid, I grew up in High Point, North Carolina," Bethea stated. "It's like every day now, innocent people getting hit, grandmothers, kids. It's ridiculous we need to stop the violence."
Bethea says his cousin, 17-year-old DeAnthony Little, was murdered a couple of weeks ago.
"It messed a lot of people up, it really hurt us when we lost him."
We crunched the numbers and discovered that yes, High Point is on par with Chicago in terms of homicide rates, considering population.
Chicago Police say there have been 371 criminal homicides so far this year.
Again, in High Point, officials say there have been 16.
The numbers sound dramatically different, but let's take population into account.
Chicago is 24 times bigger than High Point in terms of population (2.7 million versus 112,000).
So if you do the math: 16 x 24 equals 384. That means statistically speaking, if High Point was as populated as Chicago, the number or murders would be about the same. In fact, a little higher (371 versus 384).
So we can verify: Yes, High Point is right on par with Chicago's homicide rate.
High Point:
- 16 Criminal Homicides this year, 14 of which involved firearms
- 168 Aggravated Assaults involving a firearm
- 296 firearms seized
- 20 Homicides in 2018
We checked in with other Greensboro Police as well.
Greensboro:
- 32 homicides so far in 2019
- 380 Aggravated Assaults with a weapon present this year
- 37 homicides in 2018
- 44 homicides in 2017
Chicago is about 9 times more populated than Greensboro. The math indicates Greensboro's homicide rate is lower than Chicago's based on population (2.7 million versus 290,000).
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