Murders of Young Black Men Rising in Detroit

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In Detroit, as jobs and hope have evaporated in the wake of a gnawing recession, the fallout has been more than just economic. For a tiny slice of the population, it's become increasingly fatal.

For black males in the city between ages 15 and 24, the chances of getting murdered have risen rapidly in recent years, increasing from 79 in 2005 to 102 last year. The number reached a high of 115 in 2008.

"We are aware of it," said interim Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. "We are concerned."

Young black men account for just 7 percent of the city's population, yet more than a quarter of all homicides. They have a murder rate -- 200 per 100,000 residents -- nearly seven times higher than the rest of the population. If they had died at the same rate as everyone else in Detroit, there would have been 16 killed last year, or one every three weeks.

Instead, police were investigating, on average, the murders of two young black men a week.

"There's a lot of young kids dying," said Lyvonne Cargill, a 39-year-old Detroiter whose son Je'Rean "Blake" Nobles was gunned down May 14 a few blocks from her eastside home. He was 17.

Most of Detroit learned about Je'Rean's killing because of what happened days later: Police looking for his killer raided an east-side home and accidently shot and killed a 7-year-old girl, Aiyana Stanley-Jones.

But Aiyana's death wasn't the only tragedy to follow. Cargill said two of her son's best friends, both 17, also have been killed. One was shot to death, the other beaten to death.

"It's so bad what's going on around here," she said.

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Source: The Detroit News | Mike Wilkinson and Santiago Esparza

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