THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BURLINGTON, Vt. — A man in his 20s has died after he was shot in the head in a Burlington neighborhood, police said Friday, as the city contends with an increase in gun violence in recent years.
The shooting took place around 7:40 p.m. Thursday in a part of the city known as the Old North End. No suspects are in custody, but police say it is believed the parties knew each other and the shooting was not random.
More details, including the name of the victim, will be released later Friday.
In a statement, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said the shooting death was the first homicide in the city in more than two years.
“Yet it is one of many recent gunfire incidents, part of a very disturbing trend that has dramatically increased since 2020,” Weinberger said.
Early indications are the Thursday killing, like more than half of the previous gunfire incidents, involved people who had been involved in previous gunfire incidents.
Last month, Weinberger, city police and the county prosecutor said reducing gunfire incidents in Vermont’s largest city was a top priority.
At the time, city officials said there had been nearly 40 gunfire incidents in the city since the beginning of 2020. Previously, the city averaged about two a year.
The latest shooting occurred not far from where a former city councilor was slightly wounded last month while sitting outside his home.
The mayor also outlined plans to rebuild the city police force to its authorized headcount of 87 officers. As of last fall, the city had fewer than 70 officers available for operations.
Police say it will take several years before the department will be able to field 87 officers.
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