MURDER MAYHEM LARGE
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Houston has a problem.  A serious problem!

According to Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime data and Houston Police Department data, there have been 342 homicides as of November 9, 2020.

The City of Houston has not seen this level of murderous activity since 2007 when there were 352 homicides, and based off the current trend could possibly hit the 400 mark by the end of the year.  It has been 27 years since the City of Houston hit the 400 mark, reporting 447 homicides in 1993.  HPD and city leaders are seeking answers and trying to address the issue, but 2020 has proven to be problematic because an unprecedented pandemic.

But, is the increase in homicides due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

In a recent study by the The Council on Criminal Justice, crime rates were examined in 27 U.S. cities during the COVID-19 pandemic and since the level of social unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd in May.

The study showed that violent crime rates have increased since the start of the pandemic.

But, is the increase in homicides due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

In a recent study by the The Council on Criminal Justice, crime rates were examined in 27 U.S. cities during the COVID-19 pandemic and since the level of social unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd in May.

The study showed that violent crime rates have increased since the start of the pandemic.

According to the study, homicides and aggravated assaults rose beginning in late May and June 2020, with homicide rates between June and August of 2020 increasing by 53% over the same period in 2019, and aggravated assaults going up by 14%. 

The study went on to suggest that subduing the pandemic, pursuing crime control strategies of proven effectiveness, and enacting needed police reforms will be necessary to achieve durable reductions in violent crime in cities across America.

Houston has seen a flurry of violent homicides recently.  Let’s just take a look at the last several weeks to see the level of crime that has been plaguing the City at an alarming and disturbing rate.

Back on November 4, 22-year-old former University of Houston and Spring High School football player Ka’Darian Smith was murdered after being shot multiple times at his Midtown apartment by Devion Michael Hurtado, 23, who has since been arrested and charged with capital murder in the shooting death.

On Saturday, November 28, law enforcement officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety found the body of 28-year-old Briana Teirra Johnson of Houston in the trunk of a car that they were involved in a high-speed chase with in Beaumont, Texas. 

The driver, Victor Charles Campbell, 35, had gotten involved in the chase because someone reported him as a reckless driver. He was recognized by state troopers and sped off once he realized he was being stopped. Campbell eventually crashed into a concrete barrier and lost control of the vehicle, to which DPS investigators searched the vehicle and found Johnson’s lifeless body in the trunk.  An autopsy is being performed and an investigation is currently underway by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Ranger Division in cooperation with the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division, the Beaumont Police Department, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to determine the cause of death.

Campbell has since been arrested and charged with felony evading arrest, driving while intoxicated, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse, although additional felony charges could follow after the autopsy and investigation is complete.

On Sunday, November 29, a 4-year-old baby girl was pronounced dead at HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood Hospital after the girl had been found to have suffered blunt force trauma, lacerations, multiple bruises and other injuries by the girlfriend of the baby’s father.

Melynda C. Davis, 41, was taken to the Harris County Jail on charges of injury to a child and tampering with evidence, after her vicious assault on the child, whose name has not been released by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. An autopsy is being performed and although Davis has been charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence, charges against her may be upgraded once the results of the autopsy are revealed.

Also this past Sunday, November 29, a road rage incident left a 21-year-old man dead, as he was shot on the North Loop West freeway. 

According to investigators, the incident is believed to have begun on the I-45 freeway and continued on to the North Loop West freeway where, according to investigators, a witness who was sitting in the passenger seat of the victim states shots were fired from a burgundy Chrysler 300.  The victim was ultimately hit by the gunfire and the witness, who was not injured, fired several shots back at the Chrysler 300 as it sped away from the scene. According to investigators, they are not any of the suspects were hit during the gunfire exchange, but it is believed to have been at least two to three individuals in the vehicle as it left the scene.

No suspects have been identified or arrested thus far, so anyone with information on who may have been involved in the shooting death is being asked to call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

A man was robbed and shot Monday, November 30th in a parking garage in Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood.

Then, on Tuesday, December 1, police reported the body of a victim in his 30s had been found off South Gessner Road near West Bellfort Avenue, with visible signs of trauma. Investigators are looking for answers and no suspects have been identified as of yet.

As you can see, something has definitely changed the atmosphere of Houston tremendously, whether it is the COVID-19 pandemic or the social climate in America.  One thing is for sure, HPD and city leaders have definitely got to get out in front of this issue, before they find themselves dealing with another major pandemic that seems to have no end. God forbid!