WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita set a record for homicides last year with 59, eclipsing the city’s 1993 record of 57 homicides.
Wichita joined a number of cities nationwide in setting records for homicides and violent crime during 2020. Police Chief Gordon Ramsay has said that stressed related to the coronavirus pandemic may have been factors in the increase in homicides last year. Those include record high unemployment, closed schools and businesses, increasing domestic violence and the halting of court proceedings.
Throughout the year, Wichita recorded a homicide roughly once every 6 days on average.