BY MIKE CETERA
Here's something nobody is talking about: Shootings are down, way down, in Aurora this year.
Through Wednesday, shootings had dropped by more than 50 percent when compared to the same time period last year, according to Aurora Police Department statistics.
The numbers
25 shootings between Jan. 1 and April 30, 2008
53 shootings between Jan. 1 and April 30, 2007
Those figures put Aurora on pace to record 75 shootings this year. Wow.
I know it's still early and the summer months -- when activities that might lead to fools shooting guns tend to increase -- haven't arrived, but this is encouraging news. News that hasn't been trumpeted by anyone. Perhaps the police have their fingers crossed.
But if the 75-shooting pace is maintained, that would be a huge statement for a city that often gets a black eye on crime. Here's a recent look at annual shooting totals --
2007: 113
2006: 106
2005: 124
2004: 259
2003: 179
2002: 256
As we mentioned last month, the city also is experiencing a nearly unprecedented (at least in recent decades) lull in murders. The city has not been murder free this late into the new year since 1987. We're now 122 days into the new year and 129 days since the last homicide.
Good news.
..
Leave a comment