KC Homicides on Pace to Be Most This Decade

By: Andale Gross

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Killings in Kansas City are happening at an alarming rate, and police and residents say the slayings can be traced to the same urban maladies that have plagued the city for years.

Two more suspected homicides were reported Thursday morning, bringing the yearly toll to 105, and officials say 2008 could wind up as the deadliest year in Kansas City since the 1990s. There were 21 homicides in August alone - a record for a single month.

Detectives and people who live in neighborhoods infected with violence say years of economic depression and failed education are at the heart of the homicide surge.

"I think the challenges with this problem are bigger than the police department," said Kansas City police Maj. Anthony Ell, commander of the violent crimes division. "Many of the homicides are just the result of a breakdown of a whole bunch of other things going on."

KC Homicides on Pace to Be Most This Decade....