Study says Oklahoma a deadly state for blacks

Oklahoma ranks high when it comes to the number of black homicide victims in the state compared to the nation.

Oklahoma is fourth, behind Missouri, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

A national foundation in D.C., the Violence Policy Center advocates for gun regulation and released the study that found 28 out of every 100,000 Oklahoma blacks were homicide victims.

The national homicide rate is nearly 18 out of 100,000 blacks and nearly 3 out of every 100,000 whites.

One of the study’s co-authors told an Oklahoma newspaper the figures show black homicide victims in Oklahoma are dying of gunshot wounds 73% of the time.

The Violence Policy Center says of the information available, 71% of the homicides with black victims were not related to the commission of any other felony.

The rankings are based on crime statistics available from 2009.