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According to experts, the majority of San Antonio's homicides appear to be random acts of violence, and are often the result of heated arguments, the Express-News reports.
The number of homicides tallied in San Antonio so far this year has already blown past the 168 people killed in all of 2021, the daily's analysis shows. This year's total is also a 62.5% increase over the number of people killed by this time last year: 120.
The paper, which based its story on the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, said this year's total makes it the deadliest since 1993.
William Spelman, a professor emeritus of public policy at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Express-News that San Antonio's homicide rate had risen faster this year than in other cities. The local uptick appears to be driven by arguments that spill over into gunplay.
Local officials said they're alarmed by the steep increase.
Even so, San Antonio's homicide rate is skewed upward by the deaths of 53 migrants who perished in the back of a sweltering 18-wheeler this summer.
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