One child killed in Memphis every 10 days, numbers show

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — 2020 continues to prove to be a record-breaking and violent year for the city of Memphis.

As of September 29, 27 children have been victims of homicide this year in the city.

FOX13 broke down the numbers and learned this translates to a child being killed every 10 days, according to data released from the Memphis Police Department.

To put that in perspective, the average classroom size for high school students in Tennessee is also 27, according to data from Insider.com.

Of those, 21 were murdered, four were shot accidentally and two were ruled justifiable homicides.

Suspects have been arrested or identified in 12 of those cases, and 9 are ongoing investigations

On Monday, a 12-year-old died in a double shooting in Whitehaven, the city’s 229th homicide of 2020.

The victim was outside playing when the shooting happened on Crillion Drive.

Police said the suspects fled in a white SUV.

Back in July, law enforcement officials held a press conference on the troubling number of children who continue to die by gun violence in the city.

Officials put names to the numbers:

Jaden Knox, 10, was killed in a drive-by shooting in January while standing on a porch in Orange Mound.

Hours later a separate shooting killed 16-year-old Laquon Boyd and his 6-year-old niece Ashton Luckett in Hickory Hill.

“Where are the meetings and conversations and protests for these victims?” MPD Director Mike Rallings asked. “Where’s the outrage, the passion for finding criminals who are responsible? Why isn’t CrimeStoppers being overrun with phone calls?”

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced a $20,000 reward for information in the shootings of the three children.

MORE: Reward amount increased for information on drive-by shootings that killed three children

“When we lose a child before they even know what life is and can take advantage of what is out there, it is almost unbearable,” Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said.

In March, 9-year-old Xavier Jackson was shot and killed in the Canterbury Woods apartment complex.

Later that month, another child was shot and killed in the Fox Meadows neighborhood.

In April, 7-year-old Aison Golden was shot and killed in Frayser.

In August, Brandon Fleming, a 17-year-old student at Booker T. Washington High School, was shot and killed near Downtown.

Earlier this month a Whitehaven community mourned the loss of a student and football player at Whitehaven High School.

Demetrius Robinson, 17, was shot and killed at a gas station on Elvis Presley Boulevard Sept. 3.

This year would have marked Robinson’s senior football season.

The number of children killed in Memphis this year is part of an alarming increase in gun violence and murders in the city.

According to MPD, 205 people have been murdered in the city this year compared to 129 at this time last year.

FOX13 will have team coverage of the record shattering violence this year starting tonight on FOX13 News at 5 p.m.

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