Wilmington dubbed 'Murder Town USA' in Newsweek article

WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) -- A Newsweek article has dubbed Wilmington 'Murder Town USA' and it's causing quite a stir among city officials, business owners and residents alike.

Last week, the City of Wilmington had it's 27th murder of the year which ties the record set in 2010 for the deadliest year on record.

That coupled with the fact that the Wilmington Police Department only recently put together a homicide unit have earned the city the title 'Murder Town USA' in a Newsweek article.

It's the kind of headline that will grab your attention, especially if you're a local or state official.

State prosecutor Kathleen Jennings says there is no argument here.

"I think the Newsweek article was accurate. There is not one thing said in that Newsweek article that I would say was not factually correct. The reality is that we have too much violent crime on the streets," said Jennings.

But Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams took umbrage with the piece.

His office sent Action News the following statement:

The Administration is appalled by Newsweek's misrepresentation of the City of Wilmington. Our City is populated with law-abiding citizens, who work tirelessly to preserve the security and integrity of their neighborhoods. Unfortunately the violent and unlawful acts of a few are what continues to be publicized. To refer to Wilmington as 'murder town' is a grossly inaccurate characterization that severely misrepresents the many good-natured residents within our community.

"A lot of these murders are taking place during the day. It's not right where we are obviously but it has an effect on the psychology of the people who would come into town, they're not showing up anymore," said said Jack Buckley, 9th Street Book Shop.

But the question still remains - is Wilmington truly a dangerous city?

As with most stories like this one, it depends on who you ask.

Karen Kochanski works in Wilmington.

"It's very safe. We've had a lot of lectures from the police that work and how they patrol the Market Street area. I think it's very safe here," said Kochanski

"I don't think it's fair they picked on Wilmington. You can go to another urban area in any of these states and probably find the same thing because we need jobs," said Vince Jonshon.

The article goes on to rank Wilmington as third for violence among 450 small cities in the United States.

Wilmington has a population of about 71,000.

To read the full article visit: wwww.newsweek.com