After a historically deadly 2020, when Atlanta authorities investigated more homicide cases than they had in decades, 2021′s case count was higher.

Investigators worked 158 cases last year, a dispiriting tally. The city hasn’t seen this many homicide cases in a single year since 1996, the year of the deadly Centennial Olympic Park bombing.

Journalists on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s crime and public safety team cover fatal shootings, stabbings and beatings with depressing regularity, but we don’t consider this work routine. Today’s coverage in a special e-paper section shares not only the grim numbers but the stories behind them, and city leaders’ plans for combatting the violence.