CLEVELAND — On Thursday, SWAT teams responded to East 124th Street and Brackland Avenue where a woman was fatally shot and a man locked himself in a home.
Less than 24 hours earlier, two men were shot near West Side Market on West 25th Street, one of the men dying from his injuries.
And on Tuesday night, Cleveland saw six shot at a liquor store on the city's east side.
The pattern is not just alarming to residents and police, but to experts who look at these numbers.
"You have these instances where guns are just available in these disputes and they're being used," says Dan Flannery, a professor at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
"Cleveland is not alone in this uptick in violence," says Wendy Regoeczi, a professor of criminology at Cleveland State University.
In August, 3News looked into crime statistics and found that homicides were up 24 percent from 2020. The latest numbers, released by the Cleveland Division of Police less than a week ago, do not include the newest 8 shooting victims.
So for in 2021, there have been 110 firearm homicides in Cleveland, up overall 13 percent compared to this time last year.
"The work to reduce crime is an ongoing effort that is not only complex – but multi-faceted," says Regoeczi.
"It's not, unfortunately, a simple solution," says Flannery. "This takes persistent effort at multiple levels."An effort that takes law enforcement, mental health resources, and access to services.
So how does Cleveland reduce crime? Flannery explains it in terms of evolution.
The professor says that those who are victims of violence are shown to be more likely to later become perpetrators of crime. It's a vicious cycle that can really carry over.
That's why, he believes, that providing outreach and resources may be one of the best ways to combat Cleveland's rising crime problem.
Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previously published story.