HAMPTON, Va. — A violent 24 hours have left multiple people hurt in Hampton Roads.
Four people were injured during shootings in Hampton. All of those victims are expected to survive.
The shootings came as Hampton Roads continues to see an increase in violence.
Terry Riddick is the President of Best Kept Secret Stop the Violence.
He said, “It’s really sad. It’s really sad. Something needs to be done fast or we are going to lose more, a lot more young people.”
Riddick believes more resources are needed to keep young teens off the streets. He said his doors are open to help anyone who needs it.
“We really want to team up with the city of Hampton and perhaps their police department to be part of the solution,” explained Riddick.
The first Hampton shooting happened around 10:30 Sunday night on Homestead Avenue. Police say someone shot an 18-year-old man. While investigating there, investigators say a someone dropped off a 16-year-old boy at the hospital. They believe the 16-year-old was shot near Shell Road. Hampton Police said the two shootings could be connected.
Less than 30 minutes after that shooting, police said a 20-year-old was shot on North King Street. He currently has non-life threatening injuries.
The latest shooting happened on Monday morning around 4 am. in a parking lot on Andros Isle. Police say someone shot a 14-year-old there.
Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck said, “You get instances like what occurred in the last 24 hours, it feeds into the narrative that urban areas aren’t safe and that’s the biggest thing we have to combat against.”
Hampton’s Interim Police Chief, Kenneth Ferguson released a statement calling the age of the victims and offenders concerning.
Ferguson said, “Hampton is one of many cities across the region and country that is struggling with an increase in gun violence among young offenders. The age of the victims and offenders are concerning, but we are working on long and short term solutions. This is a problem that is driven by a very small percentage of offenders who are having an immense impact on our communities. We are embracing our responsibility to keep everyone safe. We are working hard to increase the cooperation that we are able to get from our victims because it is impacting our ability to bring them the justice that they deserve. We will continue to prioritize the work that we are doing that will positively impact the conditions that we face. This is certainly a policing challenge. It is also a challenge that will require an ‘all-hands’ approach. It is important that we work together as a community to keep neighborhoods safe.”
“The interim police chief thinks it’s gang related that gang activity and so he’s trying to do some things that he can address it,” said Mayor Tuck.
If you know anything that can help investigators, call the crime line at 1-888-LOCK-U-Up. You also submit an anonymous tip through the P3 tips app.