Two months after a string of homicides in Stockton spurred Police Chief Stanley McFadden to decry the violence and say it “will not be tolerated,” the directive seems to have worked.
The Police Department reported a single homicide in the city in August. By comparison, there were six slayings during the same month in 2025.
The drop comes after seven homicides were tallied in June. At the time, McFadden said police were deploying “strategic, intelligence-driven and direct enforcement efforts” focused on disrupting violent crime, holding offenders accountable and restoring a sense of safety in Stockton’s neighborhoods.
“The job is not done, and the work is not finished, but it is extra motivating to see the progress towards a safer Stockton,” Officer David Scott, a police spokesperson, said of the reduced monthly homicide count.
August’s only killing occurred at the end of the month. A 24-year-old father, Miguel Tambriz Sohom, was fatally shot Aug. 28 on south Sierra Nevada Street in what family members described as a robbery attempt.
Police data shows the death follows three others in the city during July, including a double homicide in which a man and a woman were shot and killed in north Stockton.
While there has already been a homicide reported in September — a 21-year-old Stockton man was arrested in connection with the stabbing death of his 72-year-old mother — the city’s latest report shows Stockton’s overall homicide numbers are down in 2026. Last year, from January through August, police reported 26 homicides. This year, there have been 20 — a 23% decrease.
“The teamwork of all Stockton PD personnel is making Stockton safer, one day at a time,” Scott said. That includes the detective squad, which has made arrests in 11 of the cases this year.