2007 homicides — 60 people were killed in Utah, a jump from 43 in '06

It was an event that shocked all of Utah and much of the nation.

On Feb. 12, a lone gunman marched through the Trolley Square mall randomly opening fire on unsuspecting shoppers. In just six minutes, he killed five people and injured four before being gunned down by four Salt Lake City police officers and an off-duty Ogden officer.

Brad Frantz, Jeffrey Walker, Kirsten Hinckley, Vanessa Quinn and Teresa Ellis were killed. The Trolley Square massacre set the tone for a violent year in the Beehive State punctuated by scenes of multiple homicide victims at a single incident, domestic-related murder-suicides and another tragic year for slain infants and juveniles.

A total of 60 people were killed in Utah in 2007, according to records kept by the Deseret Morning News. That's up significantly from the 43 homicides reported by the Bureau of Criminal Identification in 2006 and the most since a near-record 69 homicides were recorded in 2001. But it also continues the recent roller-coaster trend of yearly murders in the Beehive State.

In 2005, there were 55 homicides in Utah, according to the BCI. But the year before that, in 2004, there were 42 homicides, the lowest number since 1992 (there were also 42 homicides in 2000). Between 1996 and 2006, the average number of homicides per year in Utah was 56, according to the BCI.

The Deseret Morning News counts all first-degree felony homicides in its statistics, some second-degree felony homicides such as child-abuse homicide, slayings on federal land like Indian reservations and incidents that were originally charged as first-degree murder, even if the defendant pleaded to a lesser charge in court.

The BCI counts only first-degree felony homicides and manslaughter in its statistics and does not tally homicides on federal land. Neither the BCI nor the News included automobile homicide, officer-involved shootings or fatal incidents that were determined to be in self-defense in order to stay consistent with figures compiled from years past.

Under that formula, the News counted 16 homicides in Salt Lake City in 2007. Last year, there were seven homicides in the city, according to the News' records. But take away the Trolley Square slayings, and Police Chief Chris Burbank said it was an average year for homicides in the city.

There really was no trend, such as gang violence, that accounted for the slayings. As is the case most years, there was no predictability related to the number of homicides.