Study: PA has second-highest rate of black homicide victims

Pennsylvania has the second-highest rate of black homicide victims in the nation, according to a study released today by the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

The study looked at 2008 FBI data and found that 449 of the state's homicide victims that year were black, which resulted in a black homicide rate of 31.05 per 100,000. Numbers for Philadelphia were not immediately available.

Pennsylvania came in second only behind Missouri, which had a black homicide rate of 39.9 per 100,000, according to the study.

Other data found that 89 percent of all of Pennsylvania's victims were killed with guns and that of the 449 black homicide victims that year, only 47 were women.

According to the study, the national homicide rate for all races in 2008 was 4.93 per 100,000 and the national homicide rate for white people was 2.99 per 100,000.

In 2008, Philadelphia marked 331 homicides, down from 391 the previous year, according to data from the Philadelphia Police Department. In 2010, Philadelphia had 306 homicides.

As of today, Philadelphia already has 25 homicides for the year, which is the highest since 2007, when the city marked 28 by Jan. 26.