NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A person was killed in a shooting inside a car driving near the campus of Christopher Newport University in Newport News Monday afternoon, Police Chief Steve Drew said.
The shooting happened while the car was driving northbound on Warwick Boulevard. After the shooting, the vehicle went over the median, hit the curb, and flipped over, according to Drew. Police responded around 3:40 p.m. about a report of shots fired came in.
Drew confirmed it was the driver who was shot. A second person who was in the vehicle was found, taken into custody and is currently being interviewed by investigators.
The police chief added that it's unknown what exactly transpired inside the vehicle.
Both the Newport News crash team and homicide investigators were gathering evidence from the scene Monday afternoon.
Police shut down Warwick Boulevard between Sweetbriar Drive and J. Clyde Morris Boulevard was temporarily, but is back open. Around 4:30 p.m., CNU sent out an alert urging people to avoid the area and warning students of police activity, but also that "there is no known threat to campus."
13News Now spoke to a group of CNU students who said when they get alerts like that, it's hard not to fear the worst.
"Obviously, we go to worst case scenario," said Julia Carter.
"Our biggest fear, as with any college student, or student in general's fear, is that there is a threat to our campus and that we're unsafe," agreed Sydni Stock, a senior at CNU.
Ethan Jones, a sophomore, agreed it’s a scary situation.
"There is that concern for CNU students especially safety, getting those alerts and wondering if its one of us," he said. "It's also sad regardless."
Drew said the two people involved were adult men, but he could not definitively rule out whether or not the driver was a student until they identified him.
Isabella Sangiuliano said she was stunned when she saw the scene on busy Warwick Blvd as she walked to meet up with her friends.
"Not until I got to the road did I see that like that road is closed for a good stretch of the block and then there’s all these cars parked, there’s all these police cars. I was like, 'if this is just an accident, it wouldn't be this big of a deal,'" she said. "It's really scary because someone could have been walking on the other side of the road, we could have been crossing the street when the car skidded across."
That's something Carter echoed.
"We drive that road all the time and to know that it went into the opposite lane, that could have been anyone on the other side," she said.
Drew called the fact that no one else was hit a blessing.
"To go across that median and not hit anyone, I believe that’s a... the good Lord blessed us there," he said.
Shortly before 5 p.m., CNU sent the following update:
"CNU is operating under normal conditions. Christopher Newport University is grateful for the quick response of its police department, the Newport News Police Department and other first responders to an incident on Warwick Boulevard in the vicinity of the campus. No one connected to Christopher Newport University was injured and there is no threat to the safety of anyone on campus. All university activities are continuing with no interruption although all members of the University community are asked to avoid the area near the intersection of J. Clyde Morris Blvd. and Warwick Blvd. to allow police, fire, and rescue personnel to respond."