More young Black men in Connecticut have been dying in gun-related homicides since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released by the state’s Public Health Department.
The data shows the state averaged about 51 homicides a year among non-Hispanic Black men between 2015 and 2019. That spiked to 81 homicides per year post-pandemic, starting in 2021.
“This was a significant increase,” said Susan Logan, head of the Public Health Department unit that compiled the data.
“About 50% higher before COVID and after COVID. That is about three times higher than the Hispanic population and about 30 times higher than the white non-Hispanic population,” she said.
The average number of homicides among white men has not increased. Among Hispanic men pre-COVID, there were about 27 gun-related homicides a year. Post-COVID homicides increased to about 33 a year.
Logan spoke at a meeting of the state’s Commission on Community Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention.
The commission has awarded seven grants to community-based gun violence prevention organizations to tackle the problem.
The funds come from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act money.
