NORFOLK, Va. — Preston Carraway with the Downtown Norfolk Civic League said that at first, Saturday felt peaceful in Downtown Norfolk.
“I was just really happy to see all of the people out and about enjoying our downtown,” he said.
But Saturday night turned deadly after police say someone shot three people at the MacArthur Center.
One of the people, 33-year-old Roosevelt McKinney, died. They said a man and woman were shot in their ankles and are expected to be okay. Authorities believe the shooting started over an argument about money.
“Shots fired at MacArthur Mall! Shots fired at MacArthur Mall!” yelled an officer on the radio.
“It was extreme disappointment," Carraway said. "It shows that we have a much bigger problem.”
Radio traffic between police officers describes the chaos that night.
"Witnesses say gunshots came from the garage,” said another officer on the radio.
Officers say they found one victim outside the MacArthur Center.
“We have a victim in front of the NorVa,” one said.
Carraway says city leaders have focused much of their efforts on Granby Street ,and now they need to expand to other parts of the downtown area.
“That focus needs to stay there but additional focus needs to be made on the other parts of the problem and identifying who the bad players of the region,” he said.
Carraway said some civic league members just spoke at a city council meeting about safety concerns downtown. The civic league plans to speak with city leaders again to focus on a strategy to ensure safety downtown.