Last year, there was a single homicide in Stockton in June. This year, there were seven.
Eight other people were shot but survived their injuries during the month. Last year, there were five non-fatal shootings during the same span.
These grim statistics from the Stockton Police Department prompted Chief Stanley McFadden to issue a statement Wednesday acknowledging the carnage.
“Our community has experienced a series of senseless acts of violence, including multiple homicides and shootings,” he wrote.
This type of “violent crime will not be tolerated,” the chief vowed.
The Police Department began June with a sharp drop in the number of reported homicides. Slayings were down nearly 50% compared to the same period in 2025.
By the end of the month, however, the statistics were nearly even between the years. There were 16 deaths classified as homicides by police during the first six months of 2026 and 18 in 2025.
To put it another way: Stockton had nearly as many killings last month as it had reported in the previous five months combined.
Last month also became Stockton’s deadliest June since 2015, when Stockton police last reported six or more homicides in that month. It was also the city’s deadliest month so far this year. Stockton recorded nine homicides from January through May, then seven more in June. In recent years, homicides in June have been much lower, with the the city recording two homicides in June 2025, five in June 2024 and only one in June 2023.
The cases varied widely. June’s homicide victims were as young as 16. One was a woman. Most died from bullet wounds, but one was fatally stabbed.
As for non-fatal shootings, there have been 43 this year compared to 48 during the same span last year, department data shows.
Source: Stockton Police Department
Antonio “Tone” Hernandez, an outreach worker and case manager with the city of Stockton’s Office of Violence Prevention, said June’s violence was painful not only because of the number of people killed, but because of the families left behind.
“It’s horrible. It’s terrible,” Hernandez said. “It’s young people and families being torn apart, and it breaks my heart every time.”
Most of June’s homicides appear to have happened in two parts of the city. A Stocktonia review of the reported locations and the city’s council district map found that most occurred in District 5, which includes much of downtown and parts of south Stockton. Two others appear to have happened in District 1, in north Stockton. (Because police reports identify only the block where a crime occurred, rather than an exact address, Stocktonia is treating the district breakdown as an estimate.)
District 5 also saw one of the month’s most serious nonfatal shootings. On June 26, four people were injured in a shooting on Plantation Place, including children and an infant. About 20 minutes later, police responded to a separate, non-related shooting near Hunter and Sonora streets, where a 36-year-old man was killed.
In a since-deleted Facebook post, Villapudua said that he was “deeply saddened and concerned” by the Plantation Place shooting, according to The Stockton Record. He said his thoughts were with the victims and their families as they received medical care. Villapudua did not immediately respond to Stocktonia’s request for comment on the recent violence.
June’s death toll also extended beyond Stockton’s official homicide count. Seven people were killed in homicides investigated by Stockton police, and an eighth person, a bicyclist, was killed in a hit-and-run investigated by the California Highway Patrol in an unincorporated area in Stockton.
A timeline of June’s deadly cases
Stockton’s homicide toll rose sharply between June 4 and June 26, beginning with a man found fatally shot near railroad tracks off of Anderson Street and Interstate 5. Police listed the case as a homicide. The victim was later identified as Khalid Lisimba Lanier, 43, of Stockton.
Nine days later, officers responded to Hickock Court in north Stockton after a 16-year-old boy was found shot inside a vehicle that had crashed into a tree. The teen was identified as Valentino Mark Gilmore of Stockton.
About 24 hours after that, police responded to reports of a 53-year-old man having been shot after an argument Battlement Drive in south Stockton, police said. The victim, Ceasar Raasann Ammons Sr. of Antioch, was shot in the leg and taken to a hospital, where he died.
The next deadly stretch came over Father’s Day weekend and into the following week. On June 21, officers responded to Kelley Drive in north Stockton where they found a 25-year-old man with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. His name had not been released in available reports.
Hours later, in the early morning of June 22, police found 18-year-old Xavier Galvez shot and lying on the ground downtown on West Weber Avenue. He also died after arriving to the hospital.
On June 23, officers responded to reports of a stabbing on South San Joaquin Street. The victim, described as a man in his 30s, was taken to a hospital, where he died. Police identified Zion Gary, 25, as a suspect in the case.
The seventh homicide was reported June 26 after two separate shootings Friday night. The first occurred just before 10 p.m. near Plantation Place, injuring three people. About 20 minutes later, officers responded to Hunter and Sonora streets, where a 36-year-old man was shot. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. His name had not yet been released in available reports. Police said the two shootings did not appear connected.
On June 27, a bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run on Eight Mile Road near Shumway Oak Grove Regional Park, east of Interstate 5, in a case investigated by the California Highway Patrol. Two dogs with the bicyclist were also killed.
McFadden, in his statement, promised a crackdown. He said officers will target violence-prone individuals and locations of suspected criminal activity. The department is “responding with urgency, focus and determination,” he said, noting that more than 25 firearms were seized during June.
Detectives did “solve” one homicide case from last month, the chief said, and are activity working on the others. Officers seized 25 illegal firearms during the month.
“These operations are designed to disrupt violent crime, hold offenders accountable, and restore a sense of safety in our neighborhoods,” McFadden said in his statement. “Our officers will continue to maintain a visible presence and proactively address criminal activity wherever it occurs.”
Officials, candidates address the violence
The violence has prompted public statements from other elected officials and political candidates.
Desiree Lynch, a District 5 council candidate challenging Villapudua, said in an Instagram post that she struggled to find the right words without sounding like she was politicizing “heartbreaking tragedies.” Lynch, a nurse and mother, said learning that a baby had been grazed by a bullet left her angry and heartbroken.
“This gun violence sickens me,” Lynch wrote. “Last night’s shooting marks the third violent incident in less than a week in District 5. Our community cannot continue down this path.”
Lynch called for civic leaders, educators, businesses, public safety officials, community organizations and residents to come together around a shared vision for a safer Stockton.
“Our families deserve better, and our city is capable of better,” Lynch wrote.
Mayor Christina Fugazi, District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua and District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla did not immediately respond to Stocktonia’s request for comment on the city’s recent violence.
Padilla had recently pointed to Stockton police data showing crime trending downward through May, writing in a Facebook post that “the facts remain clear: crime in Stockton continues to trend downward.” The May data she shared showed one homicide that month, down from two in April.
McFadden also said in his statement that long-term reductions in violence would require more than police enforcement.
“We also recognize that lasting reductions in violence require strong partnerships beyond policing,” McFadden said. “We will continue working alongside community leaders, neighborhood organizations, schools, faith-based partners, and service providers to address the conditions that contribute to violence and to support those affected by these tragedies.”
He said these crimes affected families, neighborhoods and residents who expect to feel safe.
After the shootings, OVP focuses on families left behind
Stockton City Council proclaimed June 2026 as Gun Violence Awareness Month, recognizing victims, survivors, outreach workers, violence interrupters, service providers, advocates, faith leaders and residents working to reduce gun violence.
As part of the month, OVP planned Pop Up for Peace events to connect residents with food, resources and violence prevention information. At a June 19 event on Kentfield Road. Hernandez said organizers were choosing “the hottest spots in Stockton that need love.”
OVP and its Peacekeepers often respond after shootings to support grieving families, Hernandez said, including helping connect them with therapy, victim services, relocation assistance and funeral support.
“They need to grieve,” Hernandez said. “They need to be able to grieve in a positive way.”
But prevention also has to happen before families are gathered in hospitals or at funerals, Hernandez said, adding that OVP is working to reach more young people in schools, parks and neighborhoods, especially those who may be vulnerable to negative influences.
“We were there in the hospital. We’re there at the funerals,” Hernandez said. “But we want to also be there before all that.”
Ana Contreras, program manager for the Office of Violence Prevention, made a similar point when the city accepted the Gun Violence Awareness Month proclamation.
“Every shooting is one too many,” Contreras said.
Hernandez said reducing violence will take more than one department and called for more positive outlets for young people, including sports, activities and programs that offer guidance before a crisis.
“It takes a team effort,” Hernandez said. “We’re doing our best, but we’re only one department.”
Anyone with information about the Stockton homicide cases can contact Stockton police at (209) 937-8377 or Stockton Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600. Anyone with information about the Eight Mile Road fatal hit-and-run can contact the CHP Stockton office at (209) 938-4800.