In 2020, the homicide rate in San Luis Obispo county was the greatest recorded since 2003. Seven homicides reported last year in the county. That’s up from five in 2019.
During shootouts with police, three people were shot and killed by law enforcement officers. The most dramatic was the shooter who stalked people in the Salinas riverbed near Paso Robles for several days. He murdered several people before snipers neutralized him. That occurred only after he refused to surrender to police.
The statistics on homicides are compiled by the Department of Justice.
Other areas of the country are experiencing the same uptick in murders as increasing numbers of criminals are released from prison. It doesn’t help that some cities are defunding police.
In Portland, Oregon, homicides are up 400% this year. In Chicago, 100 shootings took place over one weekend in July. 17 fatalities recorded, including a young girl and her mother. Most of the shootings in Chicago were gang related.