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February 12, 2006
Violent Crime Rising Sharply in Some Cities
By KATE ZERNIKE

MILWAUKEE — One woman here killed a friend after they argued over a brown
silk dress. A man killed a neighbor whose 10-year-old son had mistakenly
used his dish soap. Two men argued over a cellphone, and pulling out their
guns, the police say, killed a 13-year-old girl in the crossfire.

While violent crime has been at historic lows nationwide and in cities like
New York, Miami and Los Angeles, it is rising sharply here and in many
other places across the country.

And while such crime in the 1990's was characterized by battles over gangs
and drug turf, the police say the current rise in homicides has been set
off by something more bewildering: petty disputes that hardly seem the
stuff of fistfights, much less gunfire or stabbings.

Suspects tell the police they killed someone who "disrespected" them or a
family member, or someone who was "mean mugging" them, which the police
loosely translate as giving a dirty look. And more weapons are on the
streets, giving people a way to act on their anger... SNIP