It's been almost 10 years since Columbus saw the number of homicides at the start of the year as low as it currently is. If this trend continues, Columbus could see its lowest number of homicides in almost a decade.
According to data from the Columbus Division of Police, so far in 2024, the city has seen 14 homicides as of Tuesday. It's been almost a week since the last homicide was reported by Columbus police.
The last time the total number of homicides in the first two months of the year was this low was in 2015, when the city saw only 11 homicide between Jan. 1 and the end of February.
Columbus has seen a record number of homicides in recent years with 2021 breaking a record and reaching 200 homicides. In that year, the first two months saw 36 total homicides.
In 2023, the homicide total was 149 with 30 of them coming in the first two months of the year.
Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children and their coalition of partners, including Cityview First United Methodist Church, are aiming to keep the homicide total "below triple digits" with a new effort under that name. The last time the city had under 100 homicides was in 2014 — a decade ago — when the city had a total of 92.
Cityview pastor Joe Graves said the low total so far this year is a testament to violence reduction efforts like Operation Under Triple Digits and their coalition's ability to bring people together to lay aside their differences to address violence in Columbus.
"I think everyone from every neighborhood would love to see less people killed and from every walk of life. But whether we reach that or not, the work that we're doing in reducing homicides is what's most important," Graves said.
Despite the low homicide total, there is still a high number of felonious assaults, particularly involving firearms this year, according to CPD data. There have been 246 reported felonious assaults so far this year, 92 of which were non-fatal shootings.
Of the 14 homicides this year so far, 13 were shootings where the victim died after being shot.
Columbus police report they've been able to solve eight of the 14 homicides this year, but have only solved 21.7% of the non-fatal shootings this year.
Graves said the organizations he works with are trying to prevent future violence by engaging the small population of people in Columbus who police believe are causing the majority of homicides. He said they are trying to help at-risk populations who may be involved in gang violence.
"The thing that I've realized is you're not going to overcome group and gang violence by operating out of group and gang mentality. We really have to choose to be a community where we love everyone and we come together," Graves said.
Graves said the coalition wants to provide resources to individuals connected with group and gang violence who want to go in a different direction.
Graves said helping them could involve assistance with getting a job, going back to school, moving to a different neighborhood or whatever they need to change the direction of their lives and move away from group and gang violence.
"Whether you're, you know, a majority white suburban church or whether you're a grassroots African American organization, or whether you're the city police or whether you're a city councilman member, we all have a part to play in this," Graves said.
Graves said with the numbers so far this year, he believes keeping the homicide total below triple digits is an achievable goal.
