Central Jersey
Trenton mayor calls for outside help as homicides spike
December has been the deadliest month in Trenton this year with six men felled by gunfire, five of them in the last eight days.
Trenton mayor is looking for outside help as homicides spike in the city.
Trenton homicides spike
December has been the deadliest month in Trenton this year with six men felled by gunfire, five of them in the last eight days.
The murders have incited outrage of local leaders, who have renewed their commitment to improve public safety in a city that is unable to hire more police in the near future.
With two days left in the year, there have been 24 homicides reported in Trenton in 2011, a 50 percent increase from the year before, when there were 16.
The string of killings this month began on Dec. 15 with the death of Shawn Marinnie, 20, of Stuyvesant Avenue, followed by the double homicide of Troy Bradly, 37, and Pavevo Davis, 38, on North Overbrook Avenue last week.
State Police help
Trenton mayor Tony Mack responded to the homicides during an event in celebration of Kwanzaa Wednesday, issuing a renewed call for additional police help from state and federal authorities.
He urged Trenton citizens to join him in the effort to persuade Gov. Chris Christie to allow state police to patrol the streets of Trenton.