WASHINGTON (TND) – The head of the FBI is sounding alarm bells about the escalation of murders across the United States, which he says include more violent crimes committed by juveniles, more gun trafficking and another dangerous trend.
 

“We’re seeing an alarming frequency of some of the worst of the worst getting back on the streets," said FBI Director Christopher Wray in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes that aired Sunday.
 

Another horrifying trend he discussed was the increase in police officers killed in the line of duty that is up 51%, according to FBI Statistics.
 

"An alarming percentage of the 73 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty last year were killed through things like being ambushed or shot while out on patrol," he said.
 

This past weekend, a police officer in South Carolina lost his life while responding to a domestic dispute.
 

“He loved his job. He loved being a canine officer and he was good at it," said Chris Cowan, Cayce Police Chief.
 

But it’s also a job that has become increasingly more dangerous, evidenced at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, which just completed the addition of 619 names from the last few years.
 

While most of those deaths were due to COVID-19, many were also killed while at work.
 

"Felonious assaults, ambushes death by firearms struck by traffic fatalities – all of those categories are up as well," said Bill Alexander, Executive Director of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
 

Chicago just wrapped up its most violent weekend of the year, while violent crime in the nation’s capitol is up 26%.
 

Bloodshed in Baltimore is now prompting predictions that 2022 could be deadliest year ever.
 

Sean Kennedy with Maryland Public Policy Institute told WBFF, “If trajectory holds, Baltimore could see 375 or more homicides – a record.”
 

The overall crime spike is bringing a confluence of consequences, including more and more Americans purchasing firearms, many for the first time ever.
 

Recent numbers from the National Shooting Sports Foundation show many are people of color. From 2019 to 2020, Asian American firearm purchases went up 43%, Hispanic Americans purchases went up 49% African American purchases went up 58%.
 

With violent crime up coast to coast, fears about safety are a new constant for many Americans.