Without black-on-black crime, city police Chief Nate Harper said, Pittsburgh could expect to see its homicide rate drop dramatically, to around 10 deaths a year

Instead, he said, the city has, on average, more than 55 homicides yearly. In the past 10 years, black-on-black killings have accounted for nearly 80% of the city's homicides - 307 of 385 - where an offender has been identified. The average for that period is 56.2 homicides each year. A 2010 report from the Violence Policy Center found that Pennsylvania has more black-on-black homicides than any other state, with a black homicide rate of 36.36 per 100,000. A gun, shotgun or rifle was used in almost 79% of black homicides. The average age of offenders in black-on-black gun crimes is around 24. Most are under 30, and a rising number are as young as 15.