Gun assaults increased during pandemic. See the trend for your Sacramento neighborhood

Reported gun assaults have jumped sharply in the city of Sacramento, part of a state and nationwide increase during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From March 20 through November 6, Sacramento police took reports of 157 assaults with a firearm, up by 63, or 67%, from the same period in 2019, city data show.

The increase was especially large in the north Sacramento police beat covering the neighborhoods of Strawberry Manor, Hagginwood and Noralto. Gun assaults also rose significantly in police beats covering parts of south Natomas, the downtown railyards, Colonial Village, and Valley Hi/North Laguna.

Those figures do not include homicides, which are also up in the city of Sacramento. Police responded to 32 homicides from January through September, up from 25 homicides during the same period in 2019. Murders and aggravated assaults increased in large cities statewide and across the nation from 2019 to 2020, FBI data show.

In Sacramento, police officials said increased gang activity is partially to blame for the increase in gun crimes. Two law enforcement officials told The Sacramento Bee this summer that incidents had risen after stay-at-home orders triggered by the coronavirus pandemic were eased.

In addition, judges ordered the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department to release hundreds of inmates from jails early in the pandemic to control the spread of infection in the tightly packed facilities. Jail populations have remained lower throughout the crisis.

In response to the rise in gun crimes, city police stepped up efforts to confiscate illegal guns. City officials have also funneled millions of dollars in CARES act Funding to violence prevention efforts.