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CORPUS CHRISTI - Officers at the Corpus Christi Police Department said they are shocked at the amount of recent stabbings.
They said since Friday night there have been eight stabbings, one of them fatal. The police department said the increasing crime rate is due to the economy.
The Corpus Christi Police Department said the amount of stabbings they've been seeing lately has been preposterous.
"There [was] about eight and they started Friday night around 9:00, [that] was when the first one came in and continued throughout the night. They're all unrelated leading up into the 1:00-1:30 call that we had," CCPD Homicide Lt. Isaac Valencia said.
Valencia said the last call was to Falcon and Moose, where Joe Henry Ruiz, 31, was found dead on the sidewalk over the weekend. It's now an open homicide investigation.
"As we were investigating that particular homicide, there were more calls coming in as stabbings throughout the city," Valencia stated.
Police said this is the worst summer they've seen for stabbings, especially now since the economy's so bad.
"I'm not surprised that we have a rough economy and it seems we're having a heck of a lot more violence and offenses," Valencia said.
While the exact number of stabbings hasn't been released yet, Valencia said the amount of stabbings could be on the rise because it's easier for someone to grab a knife than a gun.
"It's not premeditated necessarily. You're going to grab the first thing you've got your hands on, it may be the kitchen knife," Valencia stated.
Valencia said in all of the recent stabbings there is one common denominator: stress. Whether it's over money or a troubled relationship, the perpetrators feel there's only one solution.
"A police agency is as effective as the support it gets from its public..why? Because the public are the eyes and ears of any police agency," Valencia said.
Valencia said this weekend was one of the busiest since he's been the homicide lieutenant.
Police will continue to interview witnesses in the fatal stabbing of Ruiz. Police will also continue to investigate Monday night's stabbing on Antelope and Lily. They'll continue to check in with the victims also to see if further charges should be added.
Online Reporter: Crystal Jenkins
CORPUS CHRISTI - Officers at the Corpus Christi Police Department said they are shocked at the amount of recent stabbings.
They said since Friday night there have been eight stabbings, one of them fatal. The police department said the increasing crime rate is due to the economy.
The Corpus Christi Police Department said the amount of stabbings they've been seeing lately has been preposterous.
"There [was] about eight and they started Friday night around 9:00, [that] was when the first one came in and continued throughout the night. They're all unrelated leading up into the 1:00-1:30 call that we had," CCPD Homicide Lt. Isaac Valencia said.
Valencia said the last call was to Falcon and Moose, where Joe Henry Ruiz, 31, was found dead on the sidewalk over the weekend. It's now an open homicide investigation.
"As we were investigating that particular homicide, there were more calls coming in as stabbings throughout the city," Valencia stated.
Police said this is the worst summer they've seen for stabbings, especially now since the economy's so bad.
"I'm not surprised that we have a rough economy and it seems we're having a heck of a lot more violence and offenses," Valencia said.
While the exact number of stabbings hasn't been released yet, Valencia said the amount of stabbings could be on the rise because it's easier for someone to grab a knife than a gun.
"It's not premeditated necessarily. You're going to grab the first thing you've got your hands on, it may be the kitchen knife," Valencia stated.
Valencia said in all of the recent stabbings there is one common denominator: stress. Whether it's over money or a troubled relationship, the perpetrators feel there's only one solution.
"A police agency is as effective as the support it gets from its public..why? Because the public are the eyes and ears of any police agency," Valencia said.
Valencia said this weekend was one of the busiest since he's been the homicide lieutenant.
Police will continue to interview witnesses in the fatal stabbing of Ruiz. Police will also continue to investigate Monday night's stabbing on Antelope and Lily. They'll continue to check in with the victims also to see if further charges should be added.
Online Reporter: Crystal Jenkins