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INSIDE This Week
COMMUNITY ............ 21 Exhibit looks at Chandler Holocaust survivor.
BUSINESS .................... 25
Waymo to stay "in the zone" for now.
FEBRUARY 7, 2021
Chandler’s homicide rate increased in 2020 BY KEVIN REAGAN Arizonan Staff Writer
L
ast year was one of Chandler’s deadliest in recent history with the city recording 11 homicides. Chandler Police have not reported that many deaths in the last decade, according to data published by the FBI. Chandler had four homicides in 2019, 2018 and 2016 and five in 2017. The decade’s deadliest year had been 2010, when six homicides occurred. Despite its rise in violent deaths, Chandler Police reported a decline in burglaries,
assaults and thefts in 2020 compared to the previous year. Overall, the city has been experiencing a decline in crime rates for the last few years – making 2020’s homicide rate stand out as a bit of an anomaly. When examining each death investigation from last year, there’s not much of a pattern that could illustrate some sort of crime trend. Some deaths were premeditated, some were allegedly accidental and some were seemingly random. It’s unclear whether the pandemic and its economic repercussions had any impact on Chandler’s death rate since the circum-
Gila River Community plans mammoth playground
stances surrounding some cases are ambiguous. But COVID-19 has been cited for the spike in homicides elsewhere – including Phoenix, where police reported that even before 2020 ended, there was a 52 percent increase in murders – fueled by a 175 percent increase in domestic violence homicides. It also said homicides were up by 20 percent over 2019. Phoenix’s increase in homicides was higher than increases recorded in Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles. Nearly
see HOMICIDE page 4
Doing their part
BY PAUL MARYNIAK Arizonan Executive Editor
SPORTS .........................29
Chandler High court star leads the way. NEWS ....................................... 3 COMMUNITY ....................... 21 BUSINESS ..............................25 SPORTS................................. 29 GET OUT .............................. 30 CLASSIFIEDS ......................... 31
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he Gila River Indian Community and a Scottsdale development company are poised to begin work on a 3,300-acre sports The first piece in the Gila River Indian Comand entertainment community is the new stadium for the Phoenix plex at Wild Horse Pass. Rising soccer team. (Special to the Arizonan) Sunbelt Holdings President John Graham told the Arizonan that the development, located just south of the Loop 202-I-10 intersection, will fill a “missing cor-
see GILA page 6
Antonio Alcala, principal at Arizona College Prep Oakland Campus, and his wife Kristi, a Bogle Middle School teacher, got their COVID-19 vaccines. Many teachers are doing the same, as the story on page 10 explains. (Special to the Arizonan)
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