August was Chicago's deadliest month in two decades

August was Chicago's deadliest month in two decades, with levels of violence that set a new record for the embattled city. As of midnight on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 90 people had been murdered in the month. Prior to that, Chicago's deadliest month was nearly two decades ago, when 85 people were murdered in October 1996, The Atlantic reported.

The record-breaking month arrived amid mounting tensions between the Chicago Police Department and the city's African-American population, which accounts for one-third of the city's residents, The New York Times noted. Though Chicago is the third-biggest city in the U.S., its total number of homicides so far this year has surpassed the combined totals of New York (222) and Los Angeles (176), the country's top two biggest cities.

With four months left in the year and 487 homicides already recorded, Chicago is just three homicides away from eclipsing its total for 2015.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up