NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Aside from the roar of a passing train, the crepe myrtle-lined streets of Cottage Heights in Norfolk are typically quiet.
“I was in shock,” said 70-year-old Jacqueline Richardson, who reared her family in this neighborhood. “We’re not used to this in my neighborhood and we don’t have crime in the neighborhood.”
Tuesday evening, three young men were shot at the intersection of Rugby Street and Cottage Avenue. Two men took themselves to a local hospital, while 20-year-old William T. Robinson was taken by ambulance to Sentara Norfolk General, where he died Wednesday.
Police have not revealed information on the conditions of the two survivors.
Richardson has followed this case and other cases of crime in the community.
“Yes, I am glad that every morning I wake up and watch the news and then I tell my family, friends and I say I get tired of people, our children going away so young, you know, anybody go away, you know, lost, losing their loved ones, you know, it’s really sad. Really sad,” Richardson said.
On the west side of Rugby Street, an area that’s plagued with crime, 79-year-old Nathaniel Robinson and his grandson, Merchant Marine Dante Robinson, don’t know the victim, yet they are concerned that another young life was lost.
“You know what’s wrong with our neighborhood? Young men killing each other,” Nathaniel Robinson said. I came over here about to enjoy myself and have a good time. Now they’re killing each other.”
Nathaniel Robinson, who has four children, 11 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren has a message for young men caught in the culture of crime. Get a good education, and get a good job “so you can do better.”