NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Police are investigating a triple homicide in Newport News early Tuesday morning.
Someone called emergency dispatchers around 1 a.m. to report of shots fired on Stallings Court, according to Newport News police.
When officers arrived, they found three men dead inside a home. A police spokeswoman said all three men were shot.
Detectives and forensic investigators remained on the scene for hours collecting evidence. Detectives could also be seen trying to talk to neighbors to get more information on what occurred.
On Tuesday afternoon, police identified the victims as 61-year-old Alvin Eugene Holiday of Williamsburg, 60-year-old Monroe McGilvary Jr. of Williamsburg, and 36-year-old Derek Rico Jones of Newport News.
Neighbors shocked by shooting
Residents in the area told 13News Now a man, his wife and children live at the home police were investigating. They said the family rents out the home. One neighbor said police officers are no strangers to the home but never has he witnessed a crime scene on this block.
“What happened last night is totally out of character for this neighborhood,” said Antonia Burton.
Burton’s parents have lived on Stallings Court for more than 20 years. She and many other neighbors describe the street as calm and quiet. But this morning, waking up to this scene, felt far from what they’re used to.
“[I] Was very startled at the very large presence," she said. "There’s tape blocking our driveway, blocking the neighbor’s driveway.”
After Burton received a call from her father about the incident, she stopped by to check on her parents this morning.
“My mother told me that my father is the one who heard the shots,” she said.
He heard about five to six shots and saw a car drive away, according to Burton’s mother. She said a couple lives here with their children. When Burton and her son would stop by, she says they always spoke to her and her parents.
“You see in the backyard," Burton said. "You know that they have a trampoline and several play pieces of equipment. So, it was nothing for them to say hey, have your son come over and hang out with us.”
Burton said her parents are trying to cope with the violence that took place right next door.
“They’re dealing with it as best you can with someone they just talked to a week ago. You know, it’s not an immediate family member but it’s still gut-wrenching,” Burton said.
'Not just a random act'
At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said investigators believe this triple shooting may be drug-related.
The chief said detectives believe an argument happened before someone started shooting.
“I want to stress that this is not just a random act,” Drew said. “It’s not just someone that’s running around and selected a house and broke in the door and something tragic happened.”
According to Drew, when detectives got to the Stallings Court home in the early hours of the morning, they found three men dead inside – as well as cocaine and marijuana.
“I can tell you that there were narcotics located in the residence,” the chief said. “When we get to the bottom of everything, I think we’re going to have two things blended together: I think we’re going to have a narcotics situation and I think we’re going to have an argument and somehow those two things blend together.”
Drew added: “There were some things going on inside and out that blended inside that residence that ended inside that residence that led to this situation.”
The three victims were not the only ones inside the home when officers got there. Drew said police also found a woman inside who isn’t hurt. The chief said she lives there and called 911 after the shooting.
“She was not injured except rattled,” the police chief said.
Drew said right now, this woman is not considered a suspect, but detectives are interviewing her. He added that there are no signs of forced entry into the home.
This house is known to the police. Over the past year, Drew said officers have responded to several different calls.
“We have had some calls at that location before,” he said. “Two calls of public assistance, two calls of stolen vehicle and disorderly conduct, a possible suicide, and then an individual with some breathing difficulty.”
The chief said children also live at the home, but they were not there when the shooting happened.
The shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information that may help detectives is asked to call Crime Line at 1-888-562-5887 or submit tips online at p3tips.com.