SUFFOLK, Va. — UPDATE: The Suffolk Police Department was on the scene of a deadly shooting that killed one man and left another man injured.
The police department got the call that shots had been fired on the 2200 block of E. Washington Street, which is the Hoffler Apartments. It happened around 12:05 a.m. on Wednesday.
When police officers arrived, they found a man who had been shot and killed. He was identified as Rufus Lindell Artis, 31, of Windsor.
Another man, 18-year-old Maleek Meyers, was also injured in the shooting. After being treated, he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit a felony, assault, discharging a firearm in or around school and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Crime scene tape covered parts of the parking lot and a small field behind two apartment buildings. About 80 evidence markers could be seen in the area.
Philip Burns, who lives across the parking lot from where the shooting took place, heard it all play out early Wednesday morning.
“I heard gunfire farther down the building and then when I tried to call 911 it was jammed up," Burns said. "So by the time I got through, the second set of shots were fired… I’m pretty sure the operator heard it.”
He said it's not the first time he's witnessed a shooting near his home.
“Two vehicles came through and they just opened fire as they cleared the basketball court and the playground,” Burns said.
An update provided later by police said that they thought it was possible that this shooting was connected to another shooting that happened at the Hoffler Apartments on April 26.
In that shooting, a boy was injured when bullets struck an apartment and several cars nearby. He's also expected to be okay.
Burns is frustrated to see scenes like this, and he hopes city leaders will take action.
“Most public housing I know of have a resource officer, and I think they need to have one, especially between 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.,” he said.
Burns plans to speak at Wednesday’s city council meeting, hoping to see a change in his community.
This is an ongoing investigation. If you know anything that can help solve this case, contact the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, option 5, or submit an anonymous online tip here.