PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT R. DANIEL LAVELLE SIGNS THE “Stop The Violence Fund 2025 Community Investment Grants Bill,” SEPT. 15, 2025. (PHOTO BY CHIEF IKHANA-HAL-MAKINA)
40 less homicides in the county through Sept. 30
While one homicide is still too many, there is very positive news when it comes to homicides in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
The homicide numbers are down.
Drastically down.
As in, there were 40 less homicides in the county from Jan. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2025, as opposed to the same period in 2024. The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned exclusively that there were 87 homicides in the county from Jan. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2024. This year, though, there were 47 in the same time frame.
In a county that regularly sees well over 100 homicides per year, such as the 110 recorded in 2024, the 107 recorded in 2023, the 129 in 2022, and the 125 in 2021, there’s realistically no chance that Allegheny County will record at least 100 homicides in 2025. The county more than likely won’t reach 75 homicides this year, either.
PITTSBURGH MAYOR ED GAINEY, FAR LEFT, IS FOLLOWING THROUGH ON HIS CHARGE TO REDUCE HOMICIDES IN THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH.
During a press conference outside Mayor Ed Gainey’s office at the City-County Building, Sept. 15, the mayor, elected officials and plenty of members of anti-violence organizations in the county celebrated the city’s “Stop The Violence Fund,” which sets aside up to $10 million per year to combat crime in the city. Specifically, on Sept. 15, officials celebrated a historic $1.75 million allocation to community organizations to continue their work in the community.
Dubbed the “Stop The Violence Fund 2025 Community Investment Grants Bill,” it awarded funding to 39 community organizations. For forever and a day, Mayor Gainey has said that bringing down homicides was a major goal for his administration, and the numbers tell that the job is getting done. In 2022, the city had 71 homicides, his first year as mayor. Since that time, though, homicides have been declining. In 2023, there were 52 homicides in the city. In 2024, there were 42 homicides. Through the first nine months of 2025, there have been 22 homicides in the city, according to data provided to the Courier by Allegheny County. That means 25 homicides had occurred in the first nine months of the city in other parts of Allegheny County, totaling the 47.
The city has seen two homicides in the first week of October; 23-year-old Gerald Bogen III of East Liberty, in the Hill District, Oct. 2; and 26-year-old Rayon Williams, of McKeesport, on the South Side, Oct. 4. Still, it’s probable that the City of Pittsburgh, under the Gainey Administration, will not reach the 40 homicide mark in 2025, which would keep the decline of homicides in tact.
“As mayor, I take seriously my responsibility to protect our communities, but it was the community itself that came out and advocated to secure this funding, said Mayor Gainey about the Stop The Violence Fund not being touched in any way by City Council, even when there were rumors of a possible “raiding” of some of the funding over the summer. “It is your commitment, your presence, and your advocacy that made this possible. This is what shared leadership looks like. This is what joy looks like.”
THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH’S FELICITY WILLIAMS SPEAKS AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE, SEPT. 15. (PHOTOS BY CHIEF IKHANA-HAL-MAKINA)
The Courier obtained the list of the 39 organizations that received funding through the city’s Stop The Violence Fund initiative. Some of the organizations are: 1 Hood Media Academy ($50,000), YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh ($50,000), West End P.O.W.E.R. ($50,000), The Kingsley Association ($50,000), Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh ($50,000), Mt. Ararat Community Activity Center ($50,000), Community Empowerment Association ($50,000), Homewood Children’s Village ($50,000), East End Cooperative Ministry ($50,000), Garfield Jubilee Association ($50,000), A’s Vision ($50,000), Hill District Youth Sports ($25,000), Josh Gibson Foundation ($35,000), and Za’Kiyah House Housing ($50,000).
Mayor Gainey’s Press Secretary, Olga George, in a statement, said that the 39 organizations “are not only grantees; they are guardians of our youth, advocates for change, and partners in healing.”
George said the organizations are in the community, mentoring youth, mediating conflict, supporting families, and creating safe spaces.
“These groups are transforming lives and by extension, transforming the city,” George said in a statement.
Oftentimes, homicide reduction is the result of a collective effort by individuals and organizations to try to get to the root of problems and concerns first, before they turn into larger problems that could escalate into violence.
“We work together to save our children,” Mayor Gainey said in a statement. “We stand together to protect our neighborhoods. We rise together with love, purpose, and unity. This is a win for all of us. I also want to thank our police officers for working hand in hand with community groups to help save lives and build a safer future.”