NORFOLK, Va. — The case against a man accused of killing three women and shooting two others in Norfolk will move forward.
On Wednesday, a court found Ziontay Palmer competent to stand trial.
Police said Palmer allegedly killed three women and hurt two others when he opened fire in the Young Terrace neighborhood on the evening of Nov. 3, 2021, in an event that then-Police Chief Larry Boone described as a "mass shooting."
Witnesses said Palmer shot his 19-year-old girlfriend and when the girlfriend's mother, her partner and two other women ran out to help, Palmer shot them as well.
Three of the women -- Detra Brown, Nicole Lovewine, and Sara Costine -- all died. The girlfriend and one of the women who ran out to help survived.
Palmer is charged with three counts of second-degree murder, one charge of malicious wounding, and four counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Palmer's trial is scheduled to begin in November.