NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Two Newport News neighborhoods are healing after two people were shot over the holiday weekend.
Officers went to check on the residents of those neighborhoods after a 14-year-old girl was shot in the leg and 36-year-old Michael Paul Reid was killed.
Police Chief Steve Drew led the department on a what they call a CARE walk -- Community, Awareness, Reconnection, and Education -- to show residents they aren’t just there to write an incident report and leave.
For Mary Wilson, it was an average Fourth of July.
"The street was loaded with cars and people watching the fireworks," she recalled.
As things quieted down, something told her not to sit in her usual dining room chair.
"I sat on the couch, pulled my game out, and started playing."
She heard glass shatter as a bullet went through her dining room window.
Wilson and her husband are OK, but the same can't be said for her 14-year-old neighbor.
"I went to the front door and the little girl was laying in my yard," she said. "That night I stayed up all night cause I was scared. It scared me. We never had this happen in this neighborhood."
Chief Drew said the teen is doing well and recovering in the hospital. He and his officers came back to that neighborhood and the neighborhood where Reid was killed to check on everyone else.
"I hope that they see this department as more than just an initial report," he said. "This is our community. We’re invested in it. They live here. They’re invested here and only working together will we make things better."
Drew said any time a person is shot is awful, but especially when a child is involved.
"She will recover, physically. But, she’s gonna remember that and her friends who were here, I saw tears running down their faces," he said. "Her mother that rode in an ambulance on the Fourth of July, they’re gonna remember that."
Many of the recent shootings across Hampton Roads have involved minors.
What can that trauma do to a victim that is recovering?
Kurt Hooks, CEO of the Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center, said it does more than you might think. He said a child's brain is still developing and trauma can actually impact that development.
The part of the brain that tells us to escape dangerous situations through fight, flight, or freeze becomes more dominant than the part used for thinking or feeling. Trauma can also produce stress hormones.
"Stress hormones can also influence behavior, stunt growth, a whole myriad of issues," said Hooks.
He said parents should watch to see if their child becomes aggressive, shut down, or having trouble regulating their emotions. Most importantly, they should be ready to listen.
"If they talk about the trauma, to not minimize it, but to ensure that it's validated," he said. "We may think we're doing a child a favor by encouraging them to just be brave and be strong but in reality, those types of statements can really be harmful."
He said if your child goes through a traumatic event, it's important to connect them with a mental health professional as soon as possible.
Chief Drew said they'll continue doing these CARE walks to build relationships and show the people in the neighborhoods they’re not just coming out when something bad happens.
Officer Destiny Wilson responded to the scene Sunday night.
"Seeing someone that looked like me from this area and she was just outside hanging out on the Fourth of July, so it was kind of like, wow."
She returned on Tuesday to follow up with her team.
"It wasn’t just us showing up for a call for service. We were actually showing up to show that we are worried about this community. We care about this community."
Chief Drew said they don’t just want to talk about community policing, they want to actually do it.
"I want to reassure the individuals that live in these communities that we care about them and that they matter."
Wilson said she is glad to see them there and she has a message for the people pulling the trigger.
"Leave your guns at home because eventually, someone is going to get hurt."