PORTSMOUTH, Va. — UPDATE: Portsmouth Public Schools' superintendent confirmed that the woman who was shot on Thursday morning is a PPS staff member.
Portsmouth police said the shooting happened around 8:45 a.m. Thursday. Officers found the woman with injuries near the intersection of Deep Creek Boulevard and Jefferson Street, a few blocks away from the Emily Spong Center, an administration building for Portsmouth Public Schools.
“I was on the phone and then all of a sudden I heard like five or six gunshots and I was, like, 'Gosh, that sounds close,'” explained resident Victor Bryan.
People who live in the area said the victim was shot while sitting in her car at stop sign. They said people rushed to help the woman.
Bryan said, “She was an innocent bystander, basically. It could have been me walking to the store.”
In a statement to school staff, superintendent Dr. Elie Bracy III said that while information he could give out was limited as police investigated, "we do know that one of our own was injured due to this senseless act of violence."
Bracy added, "Undoubtedly, this is upsetting for all of us. Our hearts go out to our colleague, and we are hopeful for a swift recovery. In addition, I know it can also be troubling as we naturally question the impact of this on our day-to-day routines."
A spokeswoman for the school division said that administrators told staff members at the Emily Spong Center to go home for the day.
"In Portsmouth, we're all a family. When one of our family hurts, we all hurt," said School Board Chairman Dr. Cardell Patillo.
In a school board meeting Thursday evening, Patillo said that he and Bracy had spoken with the victim's family members.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the staff member and their family," Patillo added.
On Thursday afternoon, the police department shared details about a possible suspect vehicle they were looking for. It's a gray or silver 4-door car with damage to the front right headlight area.
In that update, the police department also said the victim was "in stable condition" at a hospital.
On Thursday, Portsmouth’s Vice-Mayor De’Andre Barnes talked about the growing crime problem in Portsmouth.
He explained, “It’s sad. She’s coming, [the victim] I’m not sure if she’s from the city or not but she’s doing her job to try and save some of the kids, and unfortunately, she got caught up in the mess that our city government created by not addressing some of the issues that led to what happened today.”
Barnes said the root issues are the lack of jobs and opportunities.
“What we have to do is touch the younger generations so we can deal with this for the long-term,” Barnes said. In the short-term, we have to find out who’s doing these crimes and deal with them accordingly.”
"It's just really, really sad that this is happening," said Barry Randall, a pastor and community activist in Portsmouth who works for the school division too.
He also prays for the victim's recovery.
The shooting Thursday happened in the middle of an already violent year in the city.
"I've never seen it get this bad and something needs to change," said Randall. "We really need for our city council to step up."
In a video published Thursday, Police Chief Renado Prince recognized the uptick in crime.
Among other strategies, he mentioned a recent task force partnership with his police department and federal agents brought gunshots citywide down 32%
"We went out in the streets. We made our presence known and force. We did a lot of things. We seized guns, we made arrests, we served warrants and summons, everything that we can do, we made community contacts, we made a lot of noise," said Prince.
He said he also plans to activate the task force again soon.
Police, community activists and school leaders all hope that the trends of violence curb swiftly. They believe it will take teamwork to do it.
If you know anything that could help investigators, call the Portsmouth Police Department at (757) 393-5300 or the area's Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Tipsters calling the Crime Line don't have to share their names and could be eligible for a cash reward.