If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you’ve already noticed the fact that there have been more murders in Killeen this year.

KXXV reports that Killeen will have another record-breaking year for homicides, already passing last year’s numbers.

So far here in K-town, KXXV reports that 24 people have been killed. The Killeen Daily Herald reports 25.

The commander of the Killeen Police Department, Anthony Laurence, says these homicides are due to encounters with individuals who know each other and not random encounters. Commander Laurence said the Killeen Police Department is putting an adequate number of officers on the streets and there is no specific danger with people who are going around committing homicides.

KPD Chief Charles Kimble told the Killeen Daily Herald late last month that there appears to be a trend of Killeen homicides involving narcotics, domestic disputes, and mental illness. KDH reports that 15 homicides this year have involved victims under the age of 25, including four teens and two infants who died in the care of adults. Twenty of this year's homicides have been attributed to gun violence, one man was fatally stabbed, and one woman was thrown from a balcony. The cause of death in one case has not yet been determined.

 

The most recent example of such a murder in Killeen claimed the life of 18-year-old Damien Xavier Rocha-Torres, who was fatally shot in a home on Camp Cooper Drive on September 25. Rocha-Torres was in a room with people he knew when family members heard a loud noise from his room. They went to check on him and found him wounded, and the people in the room with him had fled through a window.

Bell County Crime Stoppers is currently offering a reward for anyone who can provide them with information about that case.

Larry Reed from Brothers Against Community Crime, a Killeen organization that strives to educate, empower, and encourage youth, told KXXV the group welcomes anyone who wants to make a positive influence in the community.

“The crime rate is going up especially homicides because some people have a mentality of getting it by any means necessary, and they will kill behind it,” said Reed.

"You can’t just sit out on the sidelines and watch it happen and do nothing about it"

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