Philadelphia leaders vow to keep fighting as city reaches 500 homicides in 2022

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- For the second straight year, Philadelphia has reached an unimaginable level of deadly violence.

Police confirmed Tuesday that the city has recorded its 500th homicide in 2022.

It happened on Sunday afternoon when a man was shot on the 6300 block of 18th Street in the city's Ogontz section. He died hours later.

The deadliest year on record was 2021 when the city recorded 562 homicides.

Police and city leaders have prioritized efforts to reduce violence and address public safety.

City leaders say they're working to redistribute resources from the Philadelphia Police Department to the hardest-hit areas of the city.

"During our last reassessment, we realized our pinpoint graph did not align with where the bulk of the shootings are happening," said Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw during a gun violence and public safety update on Tuesday.

Starting in January, 100 additional officers will patrol four of the hardest-hit police districts: the 22nd, 24th, 25th and 39th.

"The 100 officers being deployed are being deployed from non-patrol units and administrative roles," said First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford.

So far this year, 218 juveniles have been shot. That's up nearly 7.5 percent from last year.

A 14-year-old boy is among the latest shooting victims in the city. The teen was shot while taking out the trash Monday night. Police say he is listed as stable, but the search is still on for the gunman.

A new unit focused on non-fatal shootings in Philadelphia solved 23% of this year's shootings -- an increase from last year.

New programs initiated last year that are a community-based approach to help ease gun violence will be reassessed this January. When they initially launched, the city said they would take time to implement.

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