More of Alameda County's young people between the ages of 10 and 24 were murdered in 2010 than in almost every other county in California, according to an annual study released this month from the Violence Policy Center.

The county had the second highest number of youth homicides in the state, behind Los Angeles County, and the second highest homicide rate for its population. There was one fewer youth homicide in Alameda County in 2010 than in the previous year, with a total of 55 youth murders in 2010 and a rate of 18.41 per every 100,000 youths.

The majority of the youth homicides occurred in Oakland, which saw 39 murders of youths ages 10 to 25. There were also two murders of children under the age of 5.

In Newark, two of the five murders that occurred in 2010 involved youth, including the killing of former Newark Memorial High School student Justice Afoa, who was 17 when he was fatally stabbed on Cedar Boulevard near Birch Street around 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2010.

The other was the murder of Newark resident Abdul Mubeen Babacarhail who was 22 when he and another man, who was 25 and from Hayward at the time, were stabbed near Olive Street and Thornton Avenue around 2 a.m. on October 17, 2010, according to police. Both of the men were transported to a local trauma center and Babacarhail was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to a Newark Police Department press release.

No arrests have been made in connection to either of those homicides, but Newark police have said that the investigations of each case are ongoing.

The study, "Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2010 California Homicide Victims Ages 10 to 24," uses the most recent data available to rank California counties by their homicide victimization rates for youth ages 10 to 24. The study was the first published by the VPC last year and is funded by The California Wellness Foundation.

Three Bay Area counties topped the rankings for 2010, including Contra Costa County dropping from fourth to sixth place over the previous year and San Francisco County at number eight — a new addition to the list. Monterey County had the highest youth homicide rate in California both in 2009 and 2010. 

Homicide is the second leading cause of death for California's youth, outpaced only by unintentional injuries, the majority of which are motor vehicle fatalities. A breakdown of the numbers by race shows that homicide is the leading cause of death for black youths in California, and the second for all other races except white youths — who are more likely to die from suicide or cancer.

The homicide rate is far higher for black youths, who are 22 times more likely to be victims of homicide than white youths. The rate for Hispanic youths is also consistently above the state's overall rate, according to the study, with Hispanic youths five times more likely to be murdered than white youths.   

Almost 90 percent of youth homicide victims in California are male. Half of all victims were killed by a stranger, according to the data, while 32 percent were murdered by someone they knew. Almost 20 percent of victims were identified as gang members. Firearms were the most common murder weapon used in 2010, with 87 percent of victims killed by gunfire. For all races, the most common homicide location was a street, sidewalk, or parking lot. 

The study concludes that “homicide, and particularly gun homicide, continues to be one of the most pressing public health concerns in California among youth and young adults ages 10 to 24” and that “effective violence prevention strategies must include measures that prioritize preventing youth and young adults from accessing firearms, especially handguns.” 

TOP 10 COUNTIES BY YOUTH HOMICIDE VICTIMIZATION RATE

The top 10 counties with each county's corresponding homicide victimization rate for its population of Californians ages 10 to 24 are: 

  1) Monterey County, 24.36 per 100,000

  2) Alameda County, 18.41 per 100,000

  3) San Joaquin County, 18.36 per 100,000

  4) Tulare County, 18.06 per 100,000

  5) Merced County, 13.44 per 100,000

  6) Contra Costa County, 12.94 per 100,000

  7) Fresno County, 11.61 per 100,000

  8) San Francisco County, 11.52 per 100,000

  9) Madera County, 11.39 per 100,000

10) Los Angeles County, 11.35 per 100,000 

Newark Patch Editor Nika Megino contributed to this report.