As the Jacksonville homicide toll climbed in January, ending with the deaths of an angelic-faced 22-month-old boy and the separate killing of a 62-year-old cabbie looking for a soft landing to his life, there seemed no way to stem the blood from flowing.
The sheriff and mayor said determined efforts are underway to confront everything from random shootings to gang-fueled slaughter as others in the city shook their heads in bewilderment and disgust.
While the 14 January deaths in Jacksonville far outpaced eight in the same month last year and worried the city about what might come, the toll was lower than in August when 15 died. Three months – May, November and December – totaled 12 homicides each…
Eric L. Piza, Ph.D. 