Denver marred by violent start to year

State of play: A new Major Cities Chiefs Association report found homicides dropped 18% nationwide in early 2026.

• Meanwhile, Denver recorded one more homicide during the first three months of this year than during the same period in 2025, according to the report.

Caveat: The city's three-year homicide average is down 28%, per Denver police.

What they're saying: "Hopefully we don't see another month as violent as April," police Chief Ron Thomas said Monday during a press conference, noting last month the city recorded seven homicides.

• The press conference focused on a shooting at the 16th Street Mall on May 3 that led to two officers shooting an armed man. Both the victim and suspect are expected to recover.

Zoom in: The Major Cities Chiefs Association report is closely watched because its findings tend to track with the FBI's annual crime data released each fall, Axios Russell Contreras writes.

• Its report showed Denver recorded one more homicide during the first three months this year than the same span the previous year.

Between the lines: Other violent crimes are trending down.

• Data from the Chiefs Association shows rape, robbery and aggravated assault all declined during the same span, while Thomas said non-fatal shootings are down so far this year.

Zoom out: Violent crime fell across major categories in the 67 major law enforcement agencies included in the report, per the Chiefs Association data.