Homicides Soar to Tie S.D. Record : Toll: In less than 10 months, the 1991 killings have tied the homicide record set during 1988.

The number of criminal homicides in the city of San Diego so far this year already has equaled the record set in 1988--and maybe surpassed it--following two shooting deaths over the weekend.

A 19-year-old man was shot once in the temple and killed when he was confronted in his apartment in the 4000 block of Chamoune Avenue about 1:15 a.m. Sunday by two men who broke in and robbed him of $100, San Diego Police Lt. Paul Ybarrondo said.

The victim was identified by authorities as Ruben Obando, a native of Guatemala.

The incident brought to 144 the number of criminal homicides in 1991, equaling the record established in 1988. By comparison, there were 137 criminal homicides in San Diego in 1990.

Sunday’s shooting also brought to 153 the number of homicides so far this year in San Diego, compared to the record 168 homicides that occurred in San Diego in 1988.

Police describe criminal homicides as intentional killings. Other homicides are the result of accidents or slayings by police that the district attorney’s office has ruled justified.

Whether the number of criminal homicides in San Diego this year reached 145--a new record--will be determined by the county medical examiner’s office.

At issue is whether the shooting death of a 25-year-old San Diego man late Saturday night will be considered a homicide or suicide.

The man was found lying on the front porch of a house in the 1600 block of Union Street, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. A revolver was found near the body, and the medical examiner’s office said it has not determined if the death was a suicide or homicide.

The name of the victim was not released.

“People are asking why there have been so many homicides . . . we attribute the increase to several factors,” police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

“There are more people, more guns, more narcotics and more gangs.”