NORFOLK, Va. — A man has died after a shooting in Norfolk.
The Norfolk Police Department said it happened in the 800 block of Fremont Street in the Huntersville section around 10:40 a.m. Officers said the gunshot victim, 30-year-old Lavonta E. Jarvis, of Chesapeake, was pronounced dead at the scene.
There's no immediate word on what may have led to the shooting or if any suspects have been identified.
Norfolk police officers blocked Fremont Street with yellow crime scene tape as investigators searched for evidence.
It’s a familiar scene for some. This is the second shooting on Fremont Street this year. Carlos Fontanez lives just feet away from where this latest shooting happened.
“Here we go again,” Fontanez said. “I’m in fear. I just want something to be done.”
The victim died just down the street from a massive sign with a simple message: "Stop The Violence."
Community activist Clayton Marquez put the signs up around Norfolk.
“I actually grew up on this street. I stayed on this street for 30 years,” Marquez said. “The summer hasn’t even started yet and we’re starting off bad as it is, already... we’re losing so many lives around here and it seems like the shootings just keep occurring, back and forth.”
He said the continued gun violence is disheartening.
“When we lose somebody from the community, I don’t even have to know that person, it hurts me as well. I have a lot of sleepless nights,” Marquez said. “I don’t want to become desensitized to these shootings, as if it doesn’t affect me.”
Norfolk’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi once again appealed for people to stop reaching for guns to settle arguments.
“If whatever had led to this shooting had not involved guns, people would be alive right now,” he said. “People should not resolve their disputes with gunfire.”
Fatehi said as police continue to investigate, he’s concerned people may be too afraid to come forward with information. He said he’s pushing for lawmakers to create a witness protection program as one way to solve the violence.
“We need a program,” Fatehi said. “Nowhere do you see it more than on Fremont Street and on some of the other streets in Norfolk where you and your viewers have seen the same addresses come up, over and over again.”
The shooting is just the latest in a wave of violence that has swept across Hampton Roads.
Virginia Beach police said they are investigating two separate shootings that happened early Monday morning.
Also on Sunday night, shots were fired at a vigil for a shooting victim in Norfolk, and four people were shot in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
If you have any information about any of these shootings, you're asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. You can also submit a tip online at P3Tips.com.