GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Nobody was murdered and one person died in a vehicle crash in the first two months of 2025, far lower numbers than the same period one year ago, according to new figures submitted to the city commission.
Gainesville police reported four homicides and six people killed in traffic accidents in January and February last year, according to crime reports. There were 10 murders across Alachua County in 2024, according to the latest figures from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Officers are reporting a downward trend in Gainesville’s traffic deaths, as well. So far, Gainesville police detectives have only responded to one deadly crash in the city in 2025, in January. Gainesville’s population is about 146,000.
“It can be attributed to a lot of things,” said police spokeswoman Summer Hallett. She said Chief Nelson Moya, who took control of the department in March 2024, instructed officers to put their focus on cutting down violent crime and traffic crashes. “It’s a department-wide effort.”
Gun violence and traffic deaths have been a major issue in Gainesville for years. City leaders declared a gun violence crisis in 2023, and have allocated city money for programs aimed at curbing gun crimes. Their plans to reduce traffic deaths go back even further, with city commissioners investing millions on traffic safety programs after vowing to end traffic deaths as part of their Vision Zero plan in 2018.
The first murder in Gainesville in nearly a year happened this month. A man shot and killed his wife, then shot himself. Police officers say two people were murdered in March last year, and reported one more homicide in April 2024. Between then and this month’s murder-suicide, nobody was murdered in Gainesville, according to police officials.
Some traffic deaths aren’t counted in the report because they were investigated by other law enforcement agencies. While part of I-75 runs through Gainesville, crashes there are generally investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol. Crashes on UF’s campus are generally investigated by the university’s police department.
Earlier this month, Gainesville police helped campus police investigate one student’s death in March, after a driver hit and killed her outside of Southwest Recreation Center. They also helped Florida Highway Patrol troopers block traffic after a man was killed, and a woman and four children were seriously injured on I-75 near Gainesville.
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