PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares met with Portsmouth city leaders Thursday to discuss the ongoing spike in gun violence.
The "Town Hall on Violent Crime," hosted by The Portsmouth Community Liaisons, took place at New First Baptist Church Taylorsville at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Miyares was joined by other law enforcement officials including Portsmouth Sheriff Michael Moore and Interim Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins.
A 13NewsNow investigation found violent crime in Portsmouth is up nearly 29 percent for the first half of the year, according to department figures.
This comes as city leaders look for a new chief of police after City Manager Tonya Chapman fired former Police Chief Renado Prince Tuesday.
"At the end of the day, what matters most is the safety and welfare of our young people in the City of Portsmouth," said Bishop Barry Randall.
The Gun Violence Archive lists 107 people shot this year in Portsmouth. The website's unofficial tally lists 108 shooting victims for all of last year.
With 21 killings this year, Portsmouth detectives have investigated more homicides these first six months of 2022 than they do most years. FBI data shows Portsmouth averaged 19 homicides a year over the past decade.
"With the attorney general being here, we are saying, 'Hey, you are the top cop of our state and we are reaching out to you to say what can we do?'" said Randall.
Prince, originally scheduled to attend, was not present for the forum.
Prince's firing is the latest fallout in weeks of drama involving city council members and the hiring of Chapman, who served as police chief from 2016 to 2019.
Prince is the third police chief to be fired or resign from the City of Portsmouth in three years.
Freddie Taylor of Stop The Violence 757, a community partner in the police department's Crime Intervention Plan, said the carousel of leadership does not stop the fight to take back the streets.
"Our mission doesn't change," said Taylor. "Because our mission is to make sure the community is healed and that the issues of crime and violence and guns are being addressed."
With Miyares coming into town, Randall hopes Portsmouth and state leaders can work together to address the gun violence.