A violent December with 11 killings has pushed Kansas City's homicide total to 106 for the year.
That's still four fewer than in 2009. But The Kansas City Star reported the city had been on track for a bigger decline before last month when an ongoing feud involving gang members escalated into a drive-by shooting at a funeral service. No one was killed at the funeral shooting, but police said that event could be responsible for several homicides, including a double killing.
Police now are searching for better ways to investigate cases after seeing the rate of solved cases drop to 41 percent this year, compared with 56 percent the prior three years.