Claude Richard, 43, male, was killed late on July 9, 2025, in Richmond, California. Shortly before midnight that Wednesday, police received a ShotSpotter alert reporting possible gunfire in the 900 block of Eighth Street. Officers searched but initially found no evidence. At daybreak on July 10, a different caller reported a man down a block away, in the 900 block of Ninth Street near the Triangle Court Apartments in the city’s Iron Triangle.
Responding officers found Claude Richard, 43, male, unresponsive on the sidewalk with apparent gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
By the following week, authorities publicly identified the victim as Claude Richard, 43, male, of Richmond. The location—steps from where sensors had captured gunfire hours earlier—underscored the disorienting gap between the overnight alert and the morning discovery. The Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office confirmed his identity, while Richmond police noted the killing was the city’s first homicide of 2025 after a long lull without a recorded slaying.
Investigators with the Richmond Police Department’s Homicide Unit canvassed the Ninth Street corridor, gathering video and interviewing residents near Triangle Court. Despite the early start and the proximity to the ShotSpotter activation, detectives did not immediately announce a motive or circumstances for how Claude Richard, 43, male, came to be shot and left on the sidewalk. The department’s initial bulletin marked the case as an active investigation and publicly appealed for tips.
In the days and months that followed, news outlets repeated the same core facts: Claude Richard, 43, male, was fatally shot; he was found in the 900 block of Ninth Street; and the case initiated Richmond’s first homicide investigation of the year. No arrests were announced, and police did not identify any suspects publicly. Listings that track gun-violence victims added his name and date, but offered no further clarity about a suspect description, vehicle, or known dispute. As of the latest reports, the investigation remains open and authorities continue to ask anyone with information to contact detectives.
