Lexington goes 100 days without a homicide. When was the last time that happened?
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- Lexington hasn't gone 100 days without a homicide since before 2008.
- Devine Carama of One Lexington said gun violence declined 60% in the last four years.
- Homicides rose from 2019 through 2022, then fell in each of the last three years.
Lexington has hit a significant milestone in its efforts to curb gun violence.
Saturday is the city’s 100th day without reporting a homicide. The most recent homicide happened Feb. 5, when Johnathan Hunt, 17, was shot and killed by Amontae Flynn, 18 at the Westminster Village apartment complex on Versailles Road.
According to Lexington police data, there have not been 100 days without a homicide since at least 2008, when the police department began keeping records of the city’s homicides. Last year, the city went 55 days without a homicide between Nov. 7, 2025, and Jan. 1 2026.
Between 2019 and 2022, Lexington saw its yearly homicide count increase each year, but the yearly count has declined each of the last three years. Devine Carama, director of One Lexington, an arm of the city government that seeks to prevent violent crime, said Lexington has also seen a 60% decline in overall gun violence the last four years. The city is on pace for a fifth straight year of declining gun violence.
There have been 10 non-fatal shootings in Lexington as of May 15, which is down from 14 as of this time last year, according to Lexington police data. There were zero conflicted-based shooting incidents in April, according to Carama.
Gun deaths across the U.S. have decreased sharply since 2021, data from the Pew Research Center show.
Carama became One Lexington’s Director in 2021 and started by gathering community feedback to create a strategic plan. The plan has been in place for multiple years now, and it’s continuing to show better results.
“Now a lot of these young people who would’ve been in the cycle of violence in 2026, we were working to keep them away from that cycle back in 2022, 2023,” Carama said. “Some of the beefs that were starting to escalate in 2022, when we were doing mediation services and conflict resolution, those are things that might’ve been exploding in 2026 that are now conflicts that are resolved.”
One Lexington’s goal is to address gun violence at its root and prevent it from spreading through the community. The plan includes community-based strategies, such as collaborating with schools and other partners, engaging with those involved in the cycle of violence, investing in crime solving technology, increasing access to mental health, supporting survivors of gun violence and participating in community-policing practices.
Now that the plan has been in place for multiple years, it’s proving to be more effective as time goes on. While pleased with the better results, Carama still mourns for the lives lost to gun violence along the way.
“When lives are being lost, you’re never celebrating,” Carama said. “But I do think it’s important to acknowledge the reality of our progress.”
Carama said going 100 days without a homicide is not the time to get complacent. There is more work to be done, and Carama wants to see the days without a homicide extend even deeper in the future.
“The thing about healing is it’s not a destination, it’s a journey,” Carama said. “This work is not a destination, it’s continuous. It’s a journey because even though gun violence prevention is the mandate, when you look at the root causes, ultimately we’re trying to increase the quality of life in residents.”
Eventually, Carama wants to see the community take more responsibility in carrying out the strategic plan. Carama said One Lexington is in talks with stakeholders, council members and other officials about moving One Lexington out of the mayor’s office and becoming permanent division of city government.
“We have evolved into an office effectively, and so I think that is what’s going to make One Lexington sustainable,” Carama said.
