Just three more weeks before 2021 comes to a close, but it's already going down as a year with a soaring number of homicides all across the country. The murder rate in some cities breaking records. Experts say stress from the COVID pandemic definitely playing a role here. But the major factor, guns. More tonight from CNN's Ryan Young.
RYAN YOUNG: Across the country, police departments, cities, towns, and communities dealing with an alarming increase in the number of homicides. From Portland. ... to Birmingham. ... now to Austin.
JOSEPH CHACON, AUSTIN INTERIM POLICE CHIEF: This certainly is not something were we're setting this type of record that we want to be in the news for.
YOUNG: Where the fast-growing city has shattered its yearly record for homicides, making 2021 the city's deadliest year on record. A CNN analysis of more than 40 of the most populous cities in the U.S. shows nine have already set homicide records before year's end. Indianapolis has surpassed their 2020 total of 215. Philadelphia at 524 homicides today. Albuquerque, New Mexico with 103. And Austin, Texas. What's it like to see these numbers you guys are experiencing right now?
CHACON: You know, it's really disappointing, quite honestly.
YOUNG: Austin police chief Joseph Chacon says there's no one reason for the record high numbers, but he has noticed a disturbing trend.
CHACON: We have seen really a spike in gun violence, so, you know, just a proliferation of illegally owned weapons on the street.
YOUNG: Nationwide, more homicides are being committed using guns than ever. Shootings have increased nearly in all major U.S. cities that track that data. There have been 80 homicides in Austin so far this year according to the police department -- double last year's total -- and the city homicide rate has ticked up to 8.5 percent, putting it on par with numbers not seen consistently since the '80s. But it's not guns alone -- police chiefs, activists and experts say COVID-19 is a contributing factor.
THOMAS ABT: You have something of a perfect storm where the people who are at the highest risk for violence are being pressed more than ever.
YOUNG: Experts recommend looking to community-based approaches to reduce violent crime.
ABT: Police need to be at the table, and police are part of the solution. But they are not the whole solution. You need community-based organizations and law enforcement agencies working together.
YOUNG: Activists agree.
CHRIS HARRIS, AUSTIN JUSTICE COALITION: Maybe if we were sending other types of resources other than just policing to our communities, we would be having different outcomes.
YOUNG: Chris Harris says he's seen more guns on the street, leading to not only just violence but deadly consequences.
Guns are just more accessible across our country and across our community and across our state in particular.