I regret to report that yesterday Richmond suffered its first homicide of 2018 and the first in the last 145 days (4 months and 25 days). The victim was a 20-year-old male from Antioch.

I’m not very superstitious, but I had a bad feeling when Rick Hurd of the Bay Area News Group called me for a comment on a story he was writing, “Shhh! Richmond’s Killings have stopped.” I suggested he should hold off, but I knew he wouldn’t.

Of course it wasn’t the story that resulted in the homicide, but I had hoped we truly had turned the corner and started a new trend of a violence-free Richmond.

In any event, 4 months and 25 days is still a record, and I’m hoping quietly for a one-homicide 2018.