Cook County Exceeded 900 Homicides For The First Time Since 2016

Cook County’s homicide tally has skyrocketed, exceeding 900 for the first time since 2016, data show.

That also marks the second time in nearly 25 years that the county has tracked more than 900 cases, the Associated Press reported Tuesday (December 1).

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office surpassed 2019 homicide totals in mid-September, confirming 677 cases at that time compared to 675 cases the previous year, according to a press release.

“This puts the County on track to exceed 900 homicide deaths in 2020,” the release stated. The office tracked 1,141 homicides in 1994, continuing to exceed 900 cases in the following two years.

On Monday (November 30), the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed 902 homicide cases in 2020. Those incidents largely occurred in Chicago, which has tracked more than 700 cases this year, 58 of which happened in November, according to the AP.

One murder happened shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday (November 27), following Thanksgiving.

Vincell Jackson, 52, whose girlfriend hosted a Thanksgiving gathering, apparently aimed to escort James Dixon out of the home because he was putting his hands in the Thanksgiving leftovers.

The brawl moved to the front porch of the home where Dixon, 28, allegedly stabbed Jackson several times and fled the scene. He was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

The AP noted that many of the homicides in Chicago and Cook County this year resulted from gun violence.

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