The apartment building at 1515 8th Street, on the west side of Albuquerque, is not an obvious place for a shoot-out(枪战). When The Economist visited, children were playing outside in a paddling pool(充气泳池). On May 26th, however, a home at the end of the block became the site of a siege(围攻，围困). Jose Armas, a 23-year-old man, was threatening suicide. His family called emergency services(紧急服务). Instead of a social worker, as they hoped, they got a phalanx(密集队形，方阵) of police officers. The cops shouted at Mr Armas, who, according to his brother, initially(起初) came outside unarmed(未武装的，没有武器的). He then went back inside, took a gun and fired, hitting a police car. The police then shot and killed(开枪打死) him.
阿尔伯克基西区第8街1515号的公寓楼并非明显的枪战地点。本刊到访时，孩子们正在外面的充气泳池里玩耍。然而5月26日，该街区尽头的一处住宅成了围攻现场。23岁的何塞·阿马斯威胁要自杀。他的家人拨打了紧急服务电话。他们期待的是一位社会工作者，结果却来了一队警察。警察朝阿马斯先生喊话，据其兄弟称，他起初空手走出屋外。随后他返回屋内，拿起一把枪开火，击中一辆警车。警察于是开枪打死了他。
The killing was the fourth(第四（次）) by the Albuquerque police department this year. Since 2013, 116 people have been shot and killed by the city’s police, according to(根据) Mapping Police Violence, a non-profit(非营利组织) that uses news reports to track(追踪，跟踪) killings. In Boston the figure(数字，数据) was just 16. In all of Britain, which has strict gun control(严格的枪支管制), the total over the same 13-year period(在同一13年期间) was 34.
这起杀人事件是阿尔伯克基警局今年的第四起。自2013年以来，根据利用新闻报道追踪杀人事件的非营利组织“警察暴力地图”的数据，该市警察已开枪打死116人。波士顿的数字仅为16人。而严格控枪的整个英国，在同样的13年间总共只有34人。
Albuquerque is an extreme manifestation(极端表现) of a broader problem. In the decade to 2024, the number of Americans killed by police jumped(猛增，大幅上升) by about a third. Police killings dipped(下降，短暂下跌) last year but this year have risen again. Perversely, the rise comes as national murder rates are falling. A growing share of Americans who are killed—one in ten—are dying at the hands of(死于……之手) police. Six years ago millions marched to protest the killing of one man, George Floyd(乔治·弗洛伊德（警察暴力执法受害者）), by a police officer in Minneapolis. The problem is now worse.
阿尔伯克基是一个更广泛问题的极端表现。截至2024年的十年间，被警察杀害的美国人数量增加了约三分之一。警察杀人事件去年有所下降，但今年再次上升。反常的是，这一上升发生在全国谋杀率下降之际。在每年被杀的美国人中，死于警察之手的比例越来越大——十分之一。六年前，数百万人走上街头抗议明尼阿波利斯市一名警察杀害乔治·弗洛伊德。如今问题更加严重。
