Jaded on the police beat *

Robert J. Lopez, the night cops reporter at the Los Angeles Times, just tweeted the sad truth.

LAJourno First murders of the night - Detectives at double-homicide scene in San Gabriel Valley: http://lat.ms/f9FbKL #nightblog

The murder rate may be low right now compared to past years, but that cold statistic masks a human reality that reporters on the beat see: the bodies just keep coming. Almost every night. The Times' Homicide Report has tracked 11 lives lost in Los Angeles County since last Monday, not counting tonight's. The two tonight, if that's all there are, would make 577 homicides in the county this year.

Some L.A. County murder stats for 2007-2010 from the LAT (fixed dates):

Victims:
Latino 1,621
Black 1,000
White 351
Asian 104
Other 37

Day:
Monday 439
Tuesday 386
Wednesday 317
Thursday 408
Friday 401
Saturday 566
Sunday 617