New Haven Independent

So said Police Chief James Lewis.

(The number does not include the murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le, which was reported by the Yale police.)

The city police don’t have all their official audited stats for 2009 ready yet. But Lewis said that the city had 160 shootings (including non-fatal) in 2009; that’s an 11 percent drop from 179 in 2008. Firearms arrests rose 20 percent. Overall crime dropped an approximate 11 percent, pending the final audit.

New Haven’s 2009 violent crime drop mirrored, and in some ways, surpassed similar drops in New York City and nationwide. Click here for a recent story on the year’s law enforcement turnaround.

Meanwhile, In 2010…

The new year has started off on an opposite trend: two murders in the first three days, and the shooting of a teen-aged girl.

John Brown, 32, died after someone shot him in the head at Soco’s bar and restaurant at 12:15 a.m. Friday. Police have not yet located a suspect. (Read about the case here.) A second man shot in the back in the same incident remains at the Hospital of St. Raphael; he was reported in stable condition Monday morning.

Sunday afternoon, a bloodied 57-year-old man was found lying in the street in Newhallville , shot in the head. He later died at the hospital.

Meanwhile, a 13-year-old boy grazed the face of his 13-year-old ex-girlfriend in the Hill with a bullet during an argument Saturday night. He was arrested; she survived. And a 29-year-old man was slashed in the face with a knife around 3 a.m. on Jan. 1 after a fight at Henry and Orchard.

“We’re not going to let this go on,” declared Donald Morris (pictured) of the Brotherhood Leadership Summit, an organizer of anti-violence marches in town.

He said his group hopes to meet with the mayor and police officials this week, and is holding its own emergency strategy session on Wednesday.

“We have to take this to a new level to draw serious attention not only to the city and the police department but also the African-American community to step it up,” Morris said. “Whatever it takes to sound the alarm. It’s out of hand. It’s critical. It’s African-American men.”

“Police work has to be better,” Morris continued. “They’re blaming it on people not telling. But after they tell and have to go back to these communities where people live, who’s going to protect them?”