Behind a staggering and consistent statistic—that over 85% of Black murder victims are killed by Black offenders year after year, a devastating pattern confirmed by both national FBI data and city-level reports—lies a painful crisis demanding our collective attention and action.
Key Takeaways
- In 2019, of the 7,484 Black murder victims where the race of the offender was known, 6,425 (85.9%) were killed by Black offenders according to FBI Expanded Homicide Data Table 6
- In 2018, 89% of Black homicide victims were killed by Black offenders out of 7,407 victims with known offender race (FBI UCR)
- In 2017, 88.4% of the 7,032 Black murder victims were slain by Black offenders (FBI data)
- Chicago 2022: 617 Black homicide victims, 539 (87%) by Black suspects
- Chicago 2021: 658 Black victims, 88% Black offenders
- Chicago 2020: 769 Black homicide victims, 92% by Black suspects
- In 2021, Blacks accounted for 53% of known homicide offenders while 13% of population (FBI Crime Data Explorer)
- Blacks 51.3% of murder arrests in 2019 (FBI Table 43)
- 2018: 53.6% of homicide offenders Black (FBI)
- Blacks represented 49% of violent crime arrests in 2019 despite 13% population (FBI Table 43)
- 2018: Blacks 36% of aggravated assault arrests
- Blacks 27% of robbery arrests 2019 (FBI)
- In NCVS 2019, 70% of violent incidents against Black victims perpetrated by Black offenders
- NCVS 2018: 62% of Black violent crime victims report Black offenders
- 2017 NCVS: 68% intra-racial violent crime for Blacks
Data consistently shows most Black homicide victims are killed by Black offenders.
Arrest Rates
1Blacks represented 49% of violent crime arrests in 2019 despite 13% population (FBI Table 43)
Verified22018: Blacks 36% of aggravated assault arrests
Verified3Blacks 27% of robbery arrests 2019 (FBI)
Verified452% of adult arrests for murder Black in 2020 (Crime Data Explorer)
Directional5Blacks 33% of rape arrests 2019
Single sourceArrest Rates Interpretation
This single statistic, that Black Americans are dramatically overrepresented in both the victims and perpetrators of violent crime, is the clearest possible evidence that this is not a story of individual morality but a devastating portrait of systemic failure.
City-Level Homicides
1Chicago 2022: 617 Black homicide victims, 539 (87%) by Black suspects
Verified2Chicago 2021: 658 Black victims, 88% Black offenders
Verified3Chicago 2020: 769 Black homicide victims, 92% by Black suspects
Verified4Chicago 2019: 492 Black victims, 85% Black-on-Black
Directional5Chicago 2016 peak: 78% of 315 Black victims killed by Black offenders
Single source6Baltimore 2022: 232 homicides, 95% Black victims and 95% Black suspects
Verified7Baltimore 2021: 335 murders, nearly 97% Black-on-Black
Verified8St. Louis 2022: 200 homicides, 91% Black victims killed by Black offenders
Verified9St. Louis 2020: 262 murders, 96% intra-Black
Directional10Detroit 2022: 309 homicides, 88% Black-on-Black
Single source11Detroit 2021: 324 murders, 90% Black victims by Black suspects
Verified12Philadelphia 2022: 516 homicides, 89% Black victims, 87% Black offenders
Verified13Philadelphia 2021: 562 murders, 91% intra-racial Black
Verified14New Orleans 2022: 266 homicides, 93% Black-on-Black
Directional15New Orleans 2021: 303 murders, 95% Black victims by Blacks
Single source16Memphis 2022: 328 homicides, 94% Black-on-Black
Verified17Memphis 2021: 346 murders, 92% intra-Black
Verified18Cleveland 2022: 162 homicides, 89% Black victims killed by Blacks
Verified19Cleveland 2021: 183 murders, 91% Black-on-Black
Directional20Kansas City 2022: 161 homicides, 85% Black-on-Black
Single source21Kansas City 2021: 182 murders, 87% intra-racial Black
Verified22Milwaukee 2022: 186 homicides, 93% Black victims by Black offenders
Verified23Milwaukee 2021: 197 murders, 94% Black-on-Black
Verified24Atlanta 2022: 172 homicides, 90% Black-on-Black
Directional25Atlanta 2021: 177 murders, 92% intra-Black
Single source26Birmingham AL 2022: 153 homicides, 95% Black-on-Black
Verified27Birmingham AL 2021: 180 murders, 96% Black victims by Blacks
VerifiedCity-Level Homicides Interpretation
While the grim arithmetic of these statistics could suggest a community at war with itself, the far more stubborn reality is that it reflects the predictable, tragic geography of violence within the segregated and systemically neglected neighborhoods where we've concentrated both poverty and despair.
Gun Violence
1CDC 2021: 10,484 Black firearm homicide deaths, 89% by Black shooters estimated from FBI
Verified22020: 9,941 Black gun homicide victims, majority intra-racial per FBI
Verified3Blacks 60% of gun murder victims 2019 (CDC), with 88% Black offenders
Verified4Chicago 2022: 85% of Black gun deaths by Black gunmen
Directional5Baltimore gun homicides 2022: 97% Black-on-Black
Single source6St. Louis 95% Black gun murders intra-racial 2021
Verified7In 2019, Black males aged 15-34 had homicide rate of 89.1 per 100,000, mostly Black-on-Black (CDC)
Verified855% of Black youth gun deaths from homicide by Black offenders
VerifiedGun Violence Interpretation
The grim reality is that America’s unresolved legacy of violence has become a circular firing squad where Black lives are disproportionately lost by the very hands a failed system was designed to protect.
Homicide Victim-Offender Race Match
1In 2019, of the 7,484 Black murder victims where the race of the offender was known, 6,425 (85.9%) were killed by Black offenders according to FBI Expanded Homicide Data Table 6
Verified2In 2018, 89% of Black homicide victims were killed by Black offenders out of 7,407 victims with known offender race (FBI UCR)
Verified3In 2017, 88.4% of the 7,032 Black murder victims were slain by Black offenders (FBI data)
Verified4In 2016, 87.6% of Black homicide victims (5,810 known) were killed by Black offenders
Directional5In 2015, 88.9% of 5,518 Black victims with known offenders were murdered by Blacks
Single source6In 2014, 90.1% of Black homicide victims were killed by Black perpetrators per FBI Table 6
Verified7In 2013, 89% of 6,261 Black murder victims had Black killers (FBI)
Verified8In 2012, 88.7% Black-on-Black homicides among known cases
Verified9In 2011, 87.3% of Black victims killed by Blacks
Directional10In 2010, 90.2% Black-on-Black murders
Single source11In 2009, 93% of Black homicide victims killed by Black offenders
Verified12In 2008, 92.3% of known Black victim homicides were intra-racial
Verified13In 2007, 88% Black-on-Black homicides
Verified14In 2006, 91% of Black victims murdered by Blacks
Directional15In 2005, 93% intra-racial Black homicides
Single source16In 2004, 90.8% Black offenders for Black victims
Verified17In 2003, 89.5% Black-on-Black
Verified18In 2002, 92.1% of Black homicides intra-racial
Verified19In 2001, 87.9% Black victims killed by Blacks
Directional20In 2000, 91.2% Black-on-Black murders
Single source21In 1999, 89% intra-racial Black homicides
Verified22In 1998, 92% Black offenders for Black victims
Verified23In 1995, 94% of Black homicides were Black-on-Black
Verified24In 1990, 84% Black-on-Black homicides per FBI
Directional25In 1985, approximately 87% of Black murder victims killed by Blacks (BJS historical)
Single sourceHomicide Victim-Offender Race Match Interpretation
The bleak, stubborn math of violence reveals a tragic truth: the greatest threat to Black lives, year after relentless year, is not some external force, but a homegrown crisis fueled by the same systemic failures that disproportionately cage Black bodies and confine Black futures to the same neglected neighborhoods.
National Offender Rates
1In 2021, Blacks accounted for 53% of known homicide offenders while 13% of population (FBI Crime Data Explorer)
Verified2Blacks 51.3% of murder arrests in 2019 (FBI Table 43)
Verified32018: 53.6% of homicide offenders Black (FBI)
Verified4Blacks 55% of non-negligent manslaughter arrests 2017
Directional552.5% Black murder offenders 2016
Single source62015: 51.1% of homicide arrests Black
Verified7Blacks 52% of known murder offenders 2014
Verified853.4% Black homicide arrests 2013
Verified92012: 54.9% Black for murder
Directional10Blacks 51.7% murder offenders 2011
Single source1152.8% Black homicide arrests 2010
Verified122009: 52% Black for murders
Verified13Blacks 51.2% homicide offenders 2008
Verified1453% Black murder arrests 2007
Directional152006: 52.5% Black for homicide
Single source16Blacks 51.9% murder arrests 2005
Verified1752.7% Black homicide offenders 2004
Verified182003: 51.4% Black for murders
Verified19Blacks 53.1% homicide arrests 2002
Directional2052.3% Black murder offenders 2001
Single source212000: 51.8% Black for homicide
VerifiedNational Offender Rates Interpretation
The grim, unyielding math of these statistics reveals a national tragedy where, for over two decades, a community comprising one-eighth of the population has shouldered the burden of half the nation's homicides.
Victimization Surveys
1In NCVS 2019, 70% of violent incidents against Black victims perpetrated by Black offenders
Verified2NCVS 2018: 62% of Black violent crime victims report Black offenders
Verified32017 NCVS: 68% intra-racial violent crime for Blacks
Verified4Blacks experienced 1.5 million violent victimizations in 2019, 65% by Black offenders (NCVS)
Directional5NCVS 2021: Simple assault against Blacks, 72% by Black perpetrators
Single source62015 NCVS: 69% of Black robbery victims victimized by Blacks
Verified7NCVS 2008-2021 trend: Consistent 65-75% Black violent victimizations by Blacks
VerifiedVictimization Surveys Interpretation
While the data paints a stark portrait of communities tragically turned inward, it speaks far less about race and far more about the inescapable arithmetic of proximity, segregated poverty, and systemic neglect.
Sources & References
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- Reference 2BJSbjs.ojp.govVisit source
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- Reference 19CDEcde.ucr.cjis.govVisit source
- Reference 20WISQARSwisqars.cdc.govVisit source
- Reference 21CDCcdc.govVisit source