CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A teen boy is dead after a shooting on Randolph Arch near South Military Highway in Chesapeake Monday evening, police said.
Police said they were called to a report of shots fired in the 2000 block of Randolph Arch around 10:41 p.m. on July 22.
When police arrived, they found the 15-year-old shot outside in the parking lot of the Catalina Crossings Apartment complex. Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cecelia Williams, who’s lived here for six years, looked outside and saw the flashing blue lights and crime scene tape. Her thoughts went straight to the grandsons she’s raising, 13 and 15.
“I’m fearful to let them come out now,” she said. “I know they’re not gonna stay in the house every day.”
Williams likes the Catalina Crossings complex, but she can feel the change that’s happening.
“It’s a nice place to live, but it’s different elements that’s coming in with our children when you’re trying to raise them. It’s a whole new generation,” she said, and when asked if she thought drugs or gangs might be at the root of the trouble, she responded, “I don’t know what it is.”
Her friend Vera Starlings was visiting from Norfolk, where she used to live in Tidewater Park before it was torn down. She said that was like living in a jungle, but Catalina is different.
“It’s a quiet environment, a peaceful environment. This gun violence has got to stop,” Starlings said. “The neighbors got to come together. We got to get these guns off the streets.”
Chesapeake Police had no new information on the name of the victim or a possible suspect in the deadly shooting as of Tuesday afternoon.
Williams said parents need to pay close attention to their kids’ warning signs, and when they might be crying out.
“When they tell you something, when you sense something, you have to do something,” she said. “You can’t just sweep it under the rug and say ‘no, they don’t know what they’re talking about’. Yes, they do.”
This is the second teen shot and killed in Chesapeake this year.
According to the National Gun Violence Archive, this is the 16th shooting in the city, and the ninth deadly shooting.
Police said this is an active investigation.
If you have any information about this case, you can submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, downloading the P3 tips app to a mobile device, or visiting www.P3tips.com and submitting a tip.
Check with WAVY.com for updates.
