Homicides, gun crimes up in Warren, township

July 19, 2012 at 6:54p.m.

WARREN

Warren-area homicides have risen compared with last year, including three last week.

Five people have been killed in Warren and Warren Township so far this year compared with three in 2011.

Warren gun crimes also are up, with nearly twice as many felons caught with firearms so far this year compared with the same period in 2012 — 22 instead of 13.

Nearly five times as many people have been charged with carrying a concealed weapon this year over last — 14 compared with three.

The spike in homicides may be partially because of the heat wave that has gripped the area the past couple of weeks, Warren Police Chief Tim Bowers said.

Also, the additional gun violence appears to be partly related to an increasing number of juvenile offenders, Bowers and other law-enforcement officers said Thursday at a press conference at the Warren Police Department.

Bowers, Sgt. Jeff Cole, Atty. David Toepfer of the U.S. attorney’s office and Warren Safety Service Director Enzo Cantalamessa pointed out that the U.S. attorney’s V-GRIP program is operating in Warren again this year.

“We’ve been doing it all summer, but we didn’t really tell the press or the public about it,” Bowers said.

V-GRIP stands for Violence, Gun Reduction Interdiction Program.

Despite the gun crimes and other homicides that have occurred in the Warren area this year, the cooperation among law- enforcement officers from Warren, the state and federal government has helped take guns and drugs off the street, Bowers said.