Anytime there is a murder or shooting in Worcester, the comments start: New England’s second-largest city is unsafe and crime-ridden.
While the number of shootings in Worcester are higher than some gateway communities in the state, years of strategized patrols and specialized units aimed at putting the pressure on the city’s most violent offenders appears to be paying dividends.
There were 24 shootings in 2017, with 25 victims. In all of those shootings, no victims died. There were five homicides in 2017, none by firearm.