St. Louis Ties Record Homicide Rate

St. Louis has tied its all-time record homicide rate, following a shooting death at a north side bar. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 36-year-old William Edwards of Cahokia, Illinois, was killed Sunday night at Bernie’s Place Lounge & Restaurant. A 28-year-old woman is suspected in the crime. St. Louis has reported 207 killings this year. The record is 267 in 1993, when the city’s population was about 387,000, making the homicide rate 69 per 100,000 residents. St. Louis’ population has dropped by about 86,000 since, so the 207 killings in a city of 301,000 is also a rate of 69 per 100,000 residents.