Nearly three months into the new year, homicides in Boston are down.
This time last year, there were 10 homicides in the city, including eight fatal shootings. There have been two homicides so far this year — an 80% decrease.
The year started off rough, when a 24-year-old man was shot and killed in Dorchester on Jan. 1. The second homicide happened last month — a murder-suicide at the Moxy Hotel.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is confident in the city's progress.
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"It's clear that Boston is one of, if not the, safest city in America," Wu said.
"While we are not taking any victory laps, the 2024 homicide rate is a promising indication of what can be achieved," Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.
Hayden pointed to community involvement, constant engagement by authorities, and smart enforcement strategies focusing on those responsible for a large percentage of crimes. But he says the work to combat violence in the city still isn't over.
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"I hope these early indicators will motivate all involved to work even harder to keep our neighborhoods safe," he said.
The mayor agrees.
"The key to our success here in Boston is that we are never going to be satisfied until we eliminate violence in our city," Wu said.
City leaders say they have a strategy to combat violence as the year goes on — especially during the summer months, when violence has peaked in the past, with six deaths last July.
The work starts in the neighborhoods where crime is more prevalent, City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said.
"Neighborhoods where there is either acts of violence or robbery or domestic violence issues or sexual assault, we still have work to do," she said.
