May 29, 2016
Thom Carroll, File/PhillyVoice
A Camden County Police Department is seen in the city of Camden.
Camden County police are searching for answers to a recent spike in crime after another fatal shooting on Saturday became the city's tenth homicide in May alone.
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According to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, 28-year-old Britton Knox, of Camden, was shot Saturday afternoon around 2:23 p.m. on the 1300 block of Browning Avenue. Officers responded to scene after a receiving a 911 call and multiple gunshots registered on the city's ShotSpotter system.
Knox was transported to Cooper University Hospital, where was pronounced dead at approximately 2:58 p.m. An investigation into his death remains ongoing and so far no arrests have been made.
The uptick in violence this May is particularly alarming in light of a trend toward daytime shootings. Out of a total 22 homicides in 2016, half have occurred during the daytime, including four in May. Earlier this month, a 22-year-man was killed in a hail of gunfire outside a funeral home as he and his family awaited a service for the victim's grandmother.
Officials in Camden are again faced with a resurgence in violent crime after it appeared some calm had been restored in recent years. In 2012, the city's high point for murders, 67 people were killed. Over the next three years, that number dropped to 51, 33 and 41 in 2015.
An increase in daytime shootings elevates concern that perpetrators feel they can act without fear of consequences. Camden County Police Chief Scott Thompson addressed this issue at a 2013 press conference shortly after the city police force was replaced by the county-wide department.
Anyone with information about Knox's shooting is urged to contact Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Jim Brining at (856) 225-8439 or Camden County Police Detective Ted Desantis at (856) 757-7420.
