Indianapolis sees roughly 23% increase in homicides compared to this time last year

Between January and May 31, Indianapolis has seen 84 homicides, up from 65 for the same period in 2019. That's a nearly 23% increase. 

March and April experienced fewer homicides than previous months, with 15 homicides in January, 25 in February, nine in March and 10 in April. For May, that number reached 24, according to an Indianapolis Metro Police Department report released Friday. 

The drop in homicides from February to March occurred around the same time self-quarantines and social distancing started happening in Indiana to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. It's unclear if there was a direct correlation between these two events, but at the time, law enforcement took notice.

But months of stay-at-home orders and restrictions may have started having the opposite effect on the number of homicides. On Friday, IMPD Chief Randal Taylor called the year-to-date numbers "really high" and speculated that the coronavirus pandemic could have something to do with it. 

"... People are frustrated because they had to stay inside. You could make the argument that it's just emotional frustration for different things or what's going on in people's lives."

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Taylor said the circumstances around the city's murders so far this year run the gamut.

"We've had some that I believe are truly drug related," he said, "and as we've said before, people who decide to play in that drug game, there's a higher instance of people being murdered."

Taylor went one to say some murders are over personal disagreements, including those started on social media. 

"You reach out to the community to find those answers those ways to help people deal with whatever it is that would cause them to pull the trigger," Taylor said. "We know that's never a solution to a problem. It ruins someone else's life and in ruins the shooter's life as well."

According to the report, 49 of the 84 homicides are unsolved.

IndyStar reporter Crystal Hill contributed to this story. 

Contact IndyStar reporter Elizabeth DePompei at 317-444-6196 or edepompei@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @edepompei.