PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Portsmouth Police Department said officers were looking into a homicide on Tuesday afternoon.
By Wednesday morning, officials said the victim was a 16-year-old boy.
A news release from the department said they were investigating a scene in the Churchland area of the city, near the 4400 block of Hatton Point Road.
Police said they initially were investigating a non-fatal shooting, where an 18-year-old had been hurt. That investigation was called in at 2:41 a.m. and started near High Street.
Then, just after 7 a.m., police found the body of a 16-year-old boy.
Officials said they had notified the victim's family of his death. They did not share the name of the victim publicly.
The victim was found near Blessed Hope Christian Center. Pastors there say crime is pushing them to up their security.
"We're going to go ahead and do some upgrades as far as putting up some cameras and things like that. Somewhat to monitor and keep things going," said Overseer H.D. Ford and his wife, Pastor Geraldine Ford.
Pastor Ford said they have witnessed petty crimes happening on the property before, but never anything this serious. Plans are in the works for an outside organization to assess the safety of the church property and advise them on any further measures.
If you know anything that might help investigators, call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. You can also submit a tip online by visiting P3Tips.com.