Cleveland gun violence up, but cause difficult to pinpoint

CLEVELAND — Why such a big rise in shootings in Cleveland? Is gang activity up? Are Facebook and Twitter to blame? Poverty? Drugs? Or just a statistical aberration? Experts say it’s difficult to pinpoint why the city has seen a 40 percent increase in gun homicides and a 33 percent rise in felonious assault shootings through the first nine months of this year compared with the same period a year ago.