Shootings have increased by 42% in 2023: EPS November report
Posted December 14, 2023 5:14 pm.
According to new data released by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS), the city has seen a 42 per cent increase in the number of shootings compared to this time last year.
The EPS says in November, there were 11 reported shootings within the city.
Of those, nine are believed to be targetted and four resulted in injuries. One of the shootings was also the homicide of a father and son.
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The EPS says compared to Nov. 2022, shootings in Nov. 2023 were down by 1 per cent. However, EPS notes that throughout the year, there’s been a 42 per cent increase.
As of Nov. 30, there were 204 shootings in Edmonton. Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 of 2022, there were 144 shootings.
“Driving, shopping, and walking near your home should not be this unsafe, and the reckless daytime shooting deaths at a busy shopping complex in early November clearly underscores that any respect for the safety of innocent citizens among organized crime groups is non-existent,” says Staff Sergeant Eric Stewart of the EPS Gangs and Guns Section of the Organized Crime Branch.
“The ongoing threat to public safety that results when gun violence erupts in public spaces remains a concern that we are actively working to challenge and eliminate.”
Police have seized 825 guns throughout 2023.
