2020 homicide total in Cook County has surpassed last year's

COOK COUNTY - Cook County has seen more homicides in 2020 so far than it did in all of 2019, the medical examiner’s office announced Tuesday.

With 677 homicides recorded so far this year in Chicago and surrounding suburbs, the county has surpassed 2019’s total of 675 homicides.

That puts Cook County on track to exceed 900 homicides by the end of the year, the medical examiner’s office said.

Chicago accounts for most of this year’s homicides with 565 inside city limits, the medical examiner’s office said. People of color made up 95% of all 2020 homicide deaths. About 79% of homicide victims were Black and 16% Latino. More than 86% of this year’s homicides are gun-related.

The last time Cook County saw more than 900 cases was in 2016, a historically violent year in Chicago. In 1994, the county confirmed 1,141 homicides, the medical examiner’s office said. Cook County also surpassed 900 homicides in 1995 and 1996.