NORFOLK, Va. — Over the weekend, 21 people were shot across Hampton Roads, including a mass shooting at a house party in Norfolk.
Saturday night into Sunday morning, Norfolk police responded to Killam Avenue for reports of multiple gunshot victims.
"Are they overwhelmed down there with those gunshot victims?" said an officer regarding the patrol units that already responded.
The chaotic scene of several people shot, two of whom died on the scene, played out in the calls between officers and dispatchers.
"Be advised, they don't know where the shooter is. Again, be advised, they don't know where the shooter is. Use caution," said the dispatchers to officers headed to the scene.
The shooting on Killam Avenue wasn't the only major call first responders had to handle Saturday night.
Norfolk Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Stephanie Ramsey said her crews were also handling a large fire and other medical emergencies that night. She said it was a higher volume of calls than they usually deal with on average.
"On Saturday night, rather than having those typical five incidents in an hour, we responded to 20 incidents," said Chief Ramsey. "It was taxing on our system, but we were able to recover relatively quickly."
Ramsey said her team called for back-up from Virginia Beach EMS and Virginia Beach Fire Department as part of protocol, but she said this weekend is an example of what her team dealt with this past year.
"Our call volume has gone up, and we are averaging about 5,000 more calls a year," said Ramsey.
Norfolk Emergency Preparedness and Response Director Jim Redick said he works to get 911 calls answered as soon as possible.
"That's been a challenge for us for the past couple of years because we're short on staff and have been," said Redick. "That's something we're continuously trying to address."
Redick said if a dispatcher can't pick up the phone in time due to a high volume of calls, the machine tells the caller to hold on until a dispatcher can get to them. He said if the caller hangs up, it's policy that the dispatcher calls back to make sure the person is not in distress.
Redick said despite the short staffing, his team worked overtime Saturday to handle the influx in calls, calling it an "all hands on deck effort." He said he wants callers to know if they don't get through to dispatch, it's likely crews are already on the way.
"When the first call came in, the resources are dispatched. So, while other folks are trying to call and not able to get in because these high visibility incidents will overrun any system, the resources were already dispatched, so we're thankful that was the case," said Redick.
Ramsey said her department has 14 medic units on staff at all times to serve the area, including two additional units implemented this year. She said with COVID-19 restrictions lifted and more people congregating for major events, she does not expect the volume of calls to drop anytime soon.
13News Now asked how long it took for medics to arrive on the scene of Killam Avenue, but Ramsey said she could not provide those numbers at this time.