Blacks more likely to be killed in Pa.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania had the highest homicide rate for blacks in the United States in 2006, a report released this week said.

The Violence Policy Center said that the black homicide rate for the state was 36.86 per 100,000, while the overall national homicide rate was 5.38 per 100,000 and the overall rate for blacks was 20.27 per 100,000. Other states with high black homicide rates were Michigan, Indiana, Kansas and Nevada.

"While Pennsylvania has the highest rate of black homicide victimization, this is a crisis that is devastating black teens and adults across our nation," said Josh Sugarman, the center's vice president and one of the authors of the study. "The key role played by guns in black homicide victimization cannot be denied and must be addressed."

The annual study is based on data from the FBI.

The center said that 86 percent of African-American homicide victims were male in 2006 and that guns were used in 82 percent of those homicides. In the majority of cases, the victims knew their killers, and the homicide was the result of an argument.