Drugs and Guns Are Killing New York–Two Thirds of Murder Victims Are Black, Drugs Involved

It’s late Saturday night, sometime after 3 a.m.

A black man with a history of drug crimes, somewhere between 25 and 40 years old, is hanging on the streets with a gun-toting pal.

That man is the New Yorker most likely to be murdered in 2010.

A Daily News review of the latest NYPD crime statistics shows drugs are a factor in at least half of city homicides–and two out of three victims are black.

Stats through Tuesday reveal 49% of all murder victims are involved with drug use and/or drug sales. The figure is 53% for murder suspects.

The numbers say 67% of murder victims are black, with 25% Hispanic and just 4% white.

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Much of the data mirrors past years, when black men were most often targeted in fatal shootings.

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The stats also showed 65% of killings occur outdoors; only 10% of murder suspects were women, and 77% of victims knew their killers.

The last figure underscores what police have maintained for years: There’s little chance of a law-abiding New Yorker dying at the hands of a stranger.

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NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the department was still focused on derailing the deadly drug trade.

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