BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Natasha Tate lost her son Donte this past June in a drive-by shooting in North Baton Rouge. This was the first Christmas without him. "My Christmas was horrible. I'm the mother that always cooks every holiday; he's the child that helped me cook," said Tate. She has become a statistic as much as her son has. The violence has hurt another family forever. At a Baton Rouge Police Department press conference two weeks ago, Chief Thomas Morse announced arrests in the shooting death of Diellon Daniels, 8. He said homicides were down this year. Baton Rouge Police: 3 arrested, 1 wanted in shooting that left 8-year-old boy dead "Our homicide numbers are lower than they were last year and we are at 79 homicides this year," Morse said during the press conference. But since that press conference, those numbers have gone up. As of Dec. 24, there have been 83 actual homicides. Last year's total was 81. Numbers are also up for East Baton Rouge Parish. As of Dec. 23, there are 119 homicides. In 2023, there were 106. BRPD is urging the public to come forward to help solve crimes, putting an end to the violence. The deadliest recent year was 2021, with 149 homicides in the parish and over 120 in Baton Rouge. Latest News Homicide numbers up in East Baton Rouge Parish, City of Baton Rouge as 2024 ends Drones grounded for Lone Star NYE celebration Big Game Bound: Payton picks Week 17 winners Virginia hospital stops NICU admissions after babies found with 'unexplainable fractures' DOGE prepares to cut government spending