County ranks high in youth homicide rate

Tulare County ranks fourth in the state for youth murders.

The Violence Policy Center (VPC) reported earlier this week that Tulare County ranked behind Monterey County at No. 1, Alameda County at No. 2 and San Joaquin County at No. 3, with a homicide rate for those ages 10 to 24 of 18.06 per 100,000.

Statewide, the homicide victimization rate for Californians ages 10 to 24 dropped from 10.48 per 100,000 in 2009 to 8.48 per 100,000 in 2010.

The study finds overwhelmingly that firearms, usually handguns, are the weapon of choice in the homicides of youth and young adults. The study also shows that there are vast disparities between groups: in California, young African-Americans are more than 22 times more likely to be murdered than young whites; young Hispanics are more than five times more likely to be murdered than young whites.