Philadelphia reaches 500 homicides for 1st time since 1990

Homicides are up this year from 2020, according to the FBI.

Amid a growing epidemic of gun violence, Philadelphia reached the grim milestone of 500 homicides on Wednesday, tying the record set in 1990 for the sixth-largest city in the country.

A 55-year-old woman was shot three times in the chest in South Philadelphia at about 4:30 p.m. and pronounced dead at a local hospital, police said.

In the wake of the record total, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the department was committed to "bring justice and closure to each victim and their families."

"Each and every homicide carries with it a profound sense of loss," Outlaw said in a statement. "However, for our City to have reached such a tragic milestone -- 500 lives cut short -- it carries a weight that is almost impossible to truly comprehend."