Bakersfield officials say gun-related homicides are down this year, even as residents remain shaken after a shooting at Independence High School weeks ago that killed 17-year-old Levi Brown.
In the wake of the school shooting, the city posted on social media to tell residents that homicides are down in Bakersfield. City Manager Christian Clegg said in an Instagram video that the Independence High School shooting was the only gang-related homicide in 2026.
“We also understand that incidents like this can impact how safe people feel and people should feel safe,” Clegg said. “That’s why it’s important to look at the full picture.”
Clegg said that from 2021 to 2024, shootings and homicides dropped by more than 60 percent. He also said gun-related homicides fell from 17 in 2021 to three in 2024 and 2025.
Some parents said the Independence High School shooting has changed how safe they feel.
“It makes us feel unsafe with, you know, sending our kids to school, which should be the safest place for them,” said Tiffany Williams, a local mother. While she considers Bakersfield a safe place, she said she still worries for her daughters.
“It’s definitely hard to know that something like that happened, you know, here or home,” Williams said.
Other residents said Bakersfield’s reputation doesn’t always match their experience.
“I did as well, but a lot of my friends that are down south in Orange County, they think of it as kind of dirty and not the nicest of areas,” said Greg Montejo, “But it is really nice just depending on what side of town you’re on.”