The murder rate in Bogota has climbed more than 6% so far in 2010, with young people aged 15-29 making up more than half of victims, according to new statistics from Colombia’s Institute for Legal Medicine and Forensic Science, El Tiempo reported Tuesday.
The institute says that between January 1 and April 30 of this year, 525 people were murdered in Bogota, representing a 6.5% increase from the 493 murders in the same period in 2009.
The city saw more than four murders per day on average in the first four months of 2010.
Bogota residents between the ages of 15 and 29 were the primary victims, representing 56% of the total murders.
According to the statistics, 72 of the victims were between the ages of 15 and 19; 124 between the ages of 20 and 24; and 99 between the ages of 25 and 29.
The Institute went on to report on that the most heavily affected neighborhoods by murder in Bogota were Ciudad Bolivar (90 murders), Kennedy (63 murders), Bosa (41 murders), Suba (40 murders), San Cristobal (38 murders) and Engativa (36 murders).
The least affected neighborhoods were Sumapaz (one murder), La Candelaria (two murders), Teusaquillo (six murders), Barrios Unidos (seven murders), and Antonio Nariño (seven murders).
While the increase brings Bogota’s murder rate up from the 22.71 murders per 100,000 residents in 2009, it is still lower than the 2009 national average of 39.39 per every 100,000 inhabitants, with the cities of Medellin and Cali being two of the most affected cities, with rates of 94.35 and 82.22 respectively.