Mayor Andy Berke stands in front of an aerial image of Chattanooga, on the wall of his conference room in this Nov. 17, 2014, photo.Police on Tuesday touted the fact that there have been 12 fewer shootings in Chattanooga this year, even though homicides are at their highest level in 14 years.
Shootings in Chattanooga dropped from 123 last year to 111 this year, police said in a press release — an almost 10 percent decrease. Homicides, on the other hand, jumped from 19 last year to 27 this year.
That’s the highest number of homicides in the city since 2001, and a 42 percent increase over last year.
In the release, which did not include homicide data, Mayor Andy Berke applauded the police department for the drop in shootings this year.
“Thanks to the hard work of our police officers as well as community efforts, we are seeing the shootings decrease in Chattanooga, and our goal is to see that trend line continue,” Berke said.