Lancaster County suffers through violent 6 months

LANCASTER, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say 2012 is shaping up to be a deadly year in Lancaster County.

Eleven homicides have been reported in the first six months this year. The county had 10 homicides in 2010 and 2011 combined. The 22-homicide pace for 2012 would more apt for the state’s largest counties, which have at least four times the number of people as the state’s 17th largest county.

Sheriff Barry Faile blames drugs and repeat offenders, while officials in the city of Lancaster blame the bad economy. But for the people who live in the neighborhoods not far from the stabbings and the shootings, all those factors can take the blame and none of them look to get better any time soon.