Deadly shootings of police officers up 79 percent this year over 2015

Heather Pelat, Media General Published:

A Dallas police officer covers his face as he stands with others outside the emergency room at Baylor University Medical Center, Friday, July 8, 2016, in Dallas. Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas on Thursday night, killing some of the officers. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

WASHINGTON (MEDIA GENERAL) — Deadly shootings of police officers this year are exponentially greater when compared to the same time period in 2015.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, through July 28, 2016, 34 law enforcement officers have died in firearms-related incidents, up 79 percent from 19 officers killed during the same time period in 2015.

The most recent, an officer in San Diego, California, who was killed after being shot late Thursday night. A second officer was wounded but is expected to survive.

Earlier this week, a sheriff’s deputy in Travis County, Texas, was shot and killed during a burglary attempt at his home.

Sgt. Craig “Hutch” Hutchinson, 54, had just finished his shift when he radioed the department around 1:30 a.m. Monday stating he saw “prowlers” in his backyard. He was later found shot.

The Dallas Police color guard presents the colors before the photos of five fallen officers being remembered during an interfaith memorial service at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Tuesday, July 12, 2016. Four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officer were gunned down last week in downtown Dallas at a protest rally. The victims are depicted, from left, Dallas PD officer Michael Krol, DART officer Brent Thompson, Dallas police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, Dallas police Sgt. Michael Smith, and Dallas police Officer Patrick Zamarripa. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)
The Dallas Police color guard presents the colors before the photos of five fallen officers being remembered during an interfaith memorial service at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Tuesday, July 12, 2016. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

July was a particularly deadly month for officers, with five killed in Dallas alone on July 7 during what was a peaceful protest over fatal shootings of black men by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier in the week.

Dallas Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson, 43, and Dallas Police Department officers Michael Krol, 40, Patrick Zamarippa, 32, Michael Smith, 55, and Lorne Ahrens, 48, were killed in the ambush.

Three more officers were killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 17.

Gavin Long, a 29-year-old Army veteran from Kansas City, Missouri, shot and killed Baton Rouge police officers Matthew Gerald and Montrell Jackson and East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy Brad Garafola. Three other officers were injured.

Deadly shootings of officers also occurred in Berrien County, Michigan, and Kansas City, Kansas, in July 2016.

Below is a timeline of the shootings.