Tulsa slayings in year's first half up nearly 80%

July 06, 2009 10:11 am

— TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The first six months of 2009 have seen an increase of nearly 80 percent in the number of homicides in Tulsa, compared with the same period a year ago.

From Jan. 1 to June 30 last year, 19 slayings occurred in Oklahoma's second-largest city; this year, 34 people were killed by others during the same period, a rise of 79 percent.

However, a look at the numbers for the full year in 2008 shows the spike dates back to the second half of last year.

Sgt. Mike Huff, supervisor of the Tulsa Police Department's Homicide Unit, says that between July 1, 2008, and June 30 of this year, police investigated 71 homicides. So the 34 in the first six months of this year compares with 37 during the second half of 2008.