I noted, on December 10^th, that Lexington, Kentucky, was on pace for 37 homicides for the year, 37.4633 the way the math worked out. Sadly, it looks like I was right, though there are still a few hours, and the New Year’s Eve parties, to top that number.

14-year-old boy dead after shooting near Lexington Cemetery

by Christopher Leach | Friday, December 31, 2021 | 1:14 PM EST

A 14-year-old boy was shot and killed Thursday night on Betsy Lane near Lexington Cemetery, according to Lexington police.

The shooting happened around 9 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Betsy Lane, which is near the cemetery, police said. When officers arrived on scene, they found a 14-year-old male juvenile, who was later identified by the Fayette County Coroner as Larry Morales, in a yard with life-threatening injuries.

CPR was administered on Morales until the fire department arrived, according to police. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died at 9:53 p.m.

Further down:

Morales is the second 14-year-old homicide victim in Lexington this year. Daymarcus Williams was shot and killed by a 13-year-old suspect in July.

Lexington set a new record of 30 homicides in 2019, but that didn’t last long, as 34 people were murdered in 2020. Then that record was broken with the killing of Ramon Pennie on December 7^th.

With a population of 324,604, Lexington’s homicide rate is 11.40 per 100,000 population, far lower than smaller St Louis’s, but still way, way, way too high.