Stephen Vincent, RIP

I didn't know Stephen Vincent, but I feel compelled to mark his passing. An East Village resident and writer, Stephen's work as an investigative reporter and art critic appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Harper's, Christian Science Monitor, Art & Auction, National Review Online, and others. Last night, he was murdered in Basra, Iraq. His long-time translator, Noor al-Khal, was shot and badly wounded.

Just this past Sunday, The New York Times published an op-ed piece by Vincent, in which he reported that the Basra police force being trained by British troops was a viper's pit of violent Shia extremists, some of them assassins, who harass Sunnis and others not towing their strict Islamist line:

An Iraqi police lieutenant, who for obvious reasons asked to remain anonymous, confirmed to me the widespread rumors that a few police officers are perpetrating many of the hundreds of assassinations - mostly of former Baath Party members - that take place in Basra each month. He told me that there is even a sort of "death car": a white Toyota Mark II that glides through the city streets, carrying off-duty police officers in the pay of extremist religious groups to their next assignment.

Last night, one of those cars collected him and his translator.

Stephen was also a blogger. You can read some of his recent posts here. He leaves behind his wife.

UPDATE: Charlie Finch offers a thoughful tribute on artnet.com