Lexington breaks homicide record with 2 months still to go

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - With two months still left in the year, homicides in Lexington have already reached an all-time high.

Authorities say that a 51-year-old man was fatally shot and a 37-year-old woman was strangled in separate incidents Thursday night, marking the city’s 27th and 28th homicides of the year.

News outlets report that the city’s record had previously been 27, which occurred in both 1999 and 2001.

Lexington police spokeswoman Brenna Angel says 18 of this year’s homicides have been solved so far.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray has pointed to the drug epidemic and the city’s growing population as being contributing factors for the rise in slayings.