Black crime: Baltimore recorded 43 murders in May 2015, police said, the deadliest month in more than 40 years

The Baltimore homicides were the most in any month since August 1972, when the city recorded 45 murders, according to police data. The city of about 620,000 people has tallied 116 murders so far in 2015, up from 81 in the same period in 2014, police said. Black males made up most of the May 2015 murder victims and perpetrators in the majority African-American city. Along with the rise in homicides, the number of non-fatal shootings hit 219, versus 120 at the same time in 2014, police said. Police data going back to 1970 show that Baltimore recorded more killings in August 1972 and in December 1971, when there were 44 killings. But those murders took place when Baltimore had almost 300,000 more residents than it has now.