Allie Jennerjahn joined the Denver7 news team in March 2024 as a morning reporter. She was born and raised in Hartford City, Indiana.
Denver is seeing more homicides so far in 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Denver Police Department . But context behind those numbers tells a more nuanced story.
There have been 18 homicides in Denver so far this year — 4 more than the same period last year. However, last year marked the lowest homicide count in a decade for that stretch of the calendar, meaning 2026 still ranks among the best starts to a year the city has seen in 10 years. ▶️ In the video player below, Denver7 reporter Allie Jennerjahn breaks down the numbers.
At a press conference held this week regarding a May 3 officer-involved shooting, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas addressed concerns about violent crime in the city. He called April a 'violent month,' acknowledging the rise in homicides, but noted that non-fatal shootings have decreased. Thomas said one of the department's strategies involves increasing police presence in high-crime neighborhoods.
'We have, as you know, identified a number of persistently violent hot spot locations and have applied specific strategies in those particular neighborhoods to limit the amount of violent crime that has occurred there. And none of these homicides actually occurred in any of those neighborhoods, just as was true for most of those neighborhoods last year,' Thomas said. Denver Police provided a list of locations where each of the 18 homicides this year took place.
The most frequently listed area is along East Hampden Avenue. This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Denver Crime Rate Denver Homicides 2026 Denver Officer-Involved Shooting Denver Public Safety East Hampden Avenue Ron Thomas Violent Crime Denver
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