FBI: New Mexico murders jumped nearly 16 percent last year

The FBI says the number of murders reported by New Mexico law enforcement agencies jumped by nearly 16 percent in 2015 from the year before.

New crime statistics released on Monday show the estimated number of murders in New Mexico was 117, or a 15.8 percent jump from the 2014 estimate.

That spike was above the percentage increase nationally. The FBI says the estimated number of murders in the nation was 15,696, or a 10.8 percent increase.

Meanwhile, overall violent crime in New Mexico jumped nearly 10 percent in 2015.

The troubled city of Espanola continued to have one of the state’s highest violent crime rates per 100,000 residents. According to an analysis by The Associated Press, Espanola’s violent crime rate was 2,623.8.

Albuquerque, the state’s largest city, had a violent crime rate of 965.8.