Shootings in Philadelphia Have Plummeted to Pre-Pandemic Levels

The skyline of Philadelphia, where shootings and homicides have dropped to pre-pandemic levels / Photograph by Trev Adams

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Shootings in Philadelphia Have Plummeted to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Let’s talk about data for a moment. You know, actual facts.

Though Philadelphia is constantly presented in the media — both local and national — as this lawless, hopeless place where you can’t walk for a quart of milk without getting shot, the truth is actually much, much different.

For many months, we’ve been monitoring what’s known as the “rolling shooting average” in Philadelphia. That is the total number of shootings — both fatal and not — in the last 365 days. It’s a useful measurement of how things really are in Philadelphia, what the trends are like.

As of Monday afternoon, the rolling shooting average in Philadelphia is 1,474. That means that 1,474 people have been shot in Philadelphia between April 9, 2023, and April 8, 2024. That’s obviously far too many people. But consider this: the rolling shooting average in Philadelphia on July 23, 2021, was 2,544. That was its peak. Today, the rolling shooting average is the lowest it has been since January 10, 2020.

Looking at year-to-date data, the outlook is also much different than the narrative. More than three months into the year, we’ve had 46 percent fewer shooting victims than we did during the same time period last year. About a month ago, homicides were down 30 percent as of that date. As of Monday, homicides are down 35 percent. Should that trend remain — and let’s hope and pray that it does — we would close out the year with the fewest homicides in a decade.

Just the facts, man. You can send me hate mail about it via the tip form linked above. And for more about how public safety in Philadelphia is improving, read this.

Cecily Tynan Tried Her Darnedest to School People on Eclipse Misinformation

A lot of people in the Philly area seemed to think that it was going to get dark or at least dark-ish during Monday afternoon’s eclipse. We heard about events being canceled due to the darkness. And apparently 6ABC meteorologist Cecily Tynan heard about those cancelations as well.

On Sunday night, Tynan took to social media to try to school her viewers about what they could actually expect during the eclipse. “I’m hearing of events being canceled Monday afternoon and people being worried about letting their dogs out due to the ‘darkness.’ But outside of the path of totality, it won’t get dark during the solar eclipse, just a bit dull, like during an overcast day. There will be … no behavioral changes in animals … Life can go on as normal.”

In a separate post, she wrote: “IT WILL NOT GET DARK HERE” I love it when Cecily uses all caps!

Personally, I’m glad the whole eclipse thing is over with. Was a bit of a snooze. If you weren’t in the path of totality, I don’t want to hear from you.

Local Talent

Because of course Jason Kelce had to become the talk-of-the-town at WrestleMania. For that and so much more from another overhyped event, we turn to our official WrestleMania correspondent Laura Swartz, who delivers some of the best WrestleMania moments.

And huge congrats to Philly’s own Dawn Staley, who just coached South Carolina’s women’s basketball team to the NCAA tournament championship.

By the Numbers: Eclipse Edition

55: Years you’ll need to wait if you live in Southeastern Pennsylvania and want to be in the path of totality without leaving your yard. Mark the date: May 1, 2079.

95 percent: Amount of the sun’s light that was blocked in Philadelphia during an eclipse in May of 1984. Alas, it was a cloudy day and didn’t make for great eclipse viewing.

2: People I know who thought that combination of last week’s minor earthquake and Monday’s total solar eclipse might be a sign of the End Times (no, really!) even though the world sees about 500,000 earthquakes of that magnitude each year and in spite of the fact that not a single place that felt the earthquake is in the path of totality. But logic and sound thinking are overrated these days.

And from the Eclipsed-by-the-Eclipse Sports Desk

There is no Sports Desk today. This is because my esteemed colleague Sandy Hingston, who covers all things sports for Philly Today, was talked into driving up to Niagara Falls to see the damn thing. Enjoy the traffic, Sandy!