PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — From the peninsula to the southside, Hampton Roads is recovering from a violent weekend.
The region dealt with at least six shootings in the days after Thanksgiving — two of which were deadly. In total, seven people were hurt and two people died. Of those hurt, two of them are teenagers in Chesapeake.
The violent weekend started on Friday night in Norfolk, where a man was brought to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries after being shot along Corprew Avenue. That same night in Portsmouth, police went to a crash at Fort Lane and Crawford Parkway and found a man inside, dead with gunshots.
“Apparently there was a firearm in the street,” said Ryan Davidson who lives nearby. “So not sure what that was about, but it’s just sad to see a loss of life, especially around the holidays.”
On Saturday night, a teenager in Chesapeake brought himself to a hospital after being shot in an alley near Schooner Trail. He is expected to be okay. About an hour after that shooting, police in Chesapeake responded to another teenager who was shot. He is also expected to survive.
The very next morning in Newport News, three men were shot inside a home. One died, and the other two were found with life-threatening injuries. Later that morning in Chesapeake, police were called to a fight along Portsmouth Boulevard. One woman was hurt in the fight and a man was shot. Both have non life threatening injuries. Police said the suspects left before officers showed up.
“We feel like the first thing we can resolve a situation with, ‘grab a gun, grab a gun, go get a gun.’ That’s not the solution,” said anti-violence activist Bilal Muhammad.
Muhammad encourages everyone to reach out to family and friends who may be going through tough times this holiday season.
“Grab one by the hand and listen to them,” he said. “Hopefully that emotional, mental aggressiveness will not lead them to a more destructive area down the road. Without the family strength, we’re going to lose the love and the care.”
Anyone with information about any of these shootings is asked to call the crime line at 1-888 LOCK-U-UP, or submit anonymous tips through the P3 Tips app.