Los Angeles on Sunday recorded its 300th homicide for the year, setting a milestone last reached a decade ago.

The spike in the number of violence in Los Angeles comes after major cities fight with a similar crime increase amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The violence recorded in the city includes a 32 percent increase in shootings, as Fox News reported.

The Los Angeles Times reported that four killings from Saturday into Sunday morning caused the 300-death mark for the first time since 2009.

Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Stacy Spell said that the official count would come after other determinations are made, including the county's coroner.

Spell added that the reality now is that there are 300 deaths, and that is tragic. One of the victims was a 17-year-old boy riding a bicycle, including a 50-year-old homeless man, a 20-year-old man, and a 41-year-old woman.

Many of the violence committed this year was in the southern part of Los Angeles and Central Los Angeles.

L.A. Police Chief Michel Moore said he believes the increased crime is due to several problems connected with the pandemic, such as economic struggles and virus-related restrictions on services and interventions.

Last year, L.A. reported a total of 253 homicides. In 2009, the city had a total of 312 killings.

Crime in the U.S.

Pew Research reported that property crime in the U.S. is much more common than violent crime.

Compared to 379.4 violent crimes per 100,000 people, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported a total of 2,109.9 property crimes per 100,000 people in 2019.

The most common form of property crime was larceny or theft in 2019 and was followed by burglary and motor vehicle theft.

For violent crimes, aggravated assault was the most common offense, next to robbery, rape, and murder, as well as non-negligent manslaughter.

Both FBI and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data show dramatic declines in U.S. violence and property crimes since the early 1990s.

The 1990s was the time when crimes spiked across much of the country. Americans see that the crime rate is up even when the data shows it has declined.

Perceptions of rising crime rates at a national level are expected. Fewer Americans perceive that crime is up in their own communities.

Meanwhile, BJS said that there are some demographic differences in both victimization and offending number. A BJS 2019 survey showed wide differences by age and income regarding being the victims of a violent crime.

Younger people and those with lower incomes were far more likely to report falling victim to a crime than older and higher-income people.

There were no huge differences in victimization rates between male and female respondents or those identified as White, Black, or Hispanic. However, the victimization rate among Asian Americans is significantly lower than the mentioned ethnic groups.

On the other hand, younger males and Black have considerably accounted for larger shares of perceived offenders in violent incidents.