LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington has reached 100 consecutive days without a homicide; it's a milestone city officials say may be unprecedented in the city's recorded history.
"This is a milestone so big that we couldn't even find on record the last time we went this long without a homicide," said Devine Carama, director of ONE Lexington.
The milestone follows Lexington's implementation of its first-ever comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy in 2022.
The city is now on pace for its fifth consecutive year of declining gun violence. 2025 saw the lowest number of gun-related homicides since 2015 and the lowest number of shootings since 2010. April recorded zero conflict-based shootings.
So far this year, Lexington has had four gun-related homicides, compared to eight at this same point last year.
"4 less than even last year. Is it sustainable to see a decrease every single year? Probably not, there's gonna be upticks," Carama said.
Carama says the progress reflects a broader shift in the city's culture.
"Clearly we are seeing a culture shift in Lexington," Carama said.
He points to school involvement, collaboration between city and county agencies, and community members with lived experience mentoring at-risk youth as key drivers of the success.
"Our organization, our community partners, we don't have a gun and badge, right? So we rely, our badge, is connection to the community," Carama said.
The road to this milestone was not without doubt. Carama recalled the early days of ONE Lexington, when the scale of the problem felt overwhelming.
"Five years ago, literally, you can go back and look at the numbers, when I first joined ONE Lexington, there was literally a shooting of some kind every other day. Literally. Either a homicide or non-fatal shooting. At that time, I'm just thinking how can we stop the bleeding? Literally," Carama said.
Despite the progress, Carama is urging against complacency.
"I think the time though is to double down. Sometimes we see things working and we kinda sit back and relax and say everything's going to be alright, I think whether it is in funding, whether it is in community engagement, now is the time to double down because it's not just about decreasing homicides and shootings but are we increasing the quality of life and opportunity for our most vulnerable," Carama said.
For Carama personally, the milestone carries deep meaning, but his focus remains on the people the work is meant to serve.
"Especially those who were around in the early days when people questioned my credentials in this job, when people questioned the strategy we were building early on when things were pretty rough. But we felt like we were being the voice of the people, we felt like we were God-led, and we felt like we had a strategy that was gonna work. So to get here is definitely gratifying. But I'll be honest. Nothing is more gratifying than seeing a young person's life changed," Carama said.
If you're interested in getting involved with ONE Lexington's work, click here: ONE Lexington | City of Lexington, Kentucky
