Another Stabbing In Pittsfield; Crime Numbers Still Down

There was another stabbing in Pittsfield. This left me wondering if knife violence is on the rise.

According to police, units were called to Melville St. around 9:45 p.m. last night for a report of a 41-year-old man who was stabbed in the face. He was transported to BMC with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. This case is still under investigation and police are seeking any information from the public.

This marks the second stabbing in Pittsfield in the last few weeks. On May 29, Zyrus Jaynes of Springfield stabbed Jesse Gray of Pittsfield and was subsequently charged with his murder.

A Sheffield man, Cole Bushnell was arrested for the brutal murder of a Connecticut man, Michael Moore, just a few days later. This was not a stabbing, however.

Two stabbings in a month, two murders in a month - this raises questions about the overall crime rate statewide.

Another Pittsfield Stabbing - Crime Numbers are still down

The good news is, violent crime is trending down in Massachusetts since 2020. The violent crime rate in Massachusetts per year is 315 per 100,000 people and is down 2% since the previous year, according to usafacts.org.

The overall homicide rate in Massachusetts is down 11% from the previous year, according to the globalstatistics.com

So statistically, statewide trends are moving in the right direction. But numbers don't tell the whole story when incidents keep happening in your own backyard - especially when they get so much attention on social media pages. The Melville Street stabbing is still under active investigation, and PPD is not releasing additional details at this time.