HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — A community is grieving the loss of a 17-year-old Hampton High School senior.
Hampton police say Vic’Quan Newton was shot and killed last Monday on Michigan Drive. One week to the day, his fellow classmates and nearby community held a candlelight vigil in his memory.
There were candles, prayer and an impassioned speech from Newton’s mother, Viccarra Coker.
“Whoever did it is going to continue to be uncomfortable because I am not going away,” Coker said. “I know you’re hurting. I know you’re upset. You want answers, but I want you to be well.”
Newton was shot multiple times last Monday night outside an apartment complex on Michigan Drive. He was able to drive away in his car before crashing into a ditch off of LaSalle Avenue and North Armistead Avenue. He later died at the hospital.
The teen’s mom told us he recently moved to the area to live with his older brother and sister-in-law, who are both in the Navy.
“He was about love,” Coker said. “He was about peace. He was about support. He was about family. He was about friendship. He was about community.”
Coker shared her son’s success on and off the football field.
“My son had a high GPA,” Coker said. “He had multiple college acceptance letters already received. JMU, ODU, Norfolk State, North Carolina State, South Carolina State, Liberty, I could go on and on and on. He had so many options — he had not decided. My son did not live the lifestyle that his killers lived. He did not. He did not. He did not.”
It was an emotional moment of remembrance and self-awareness, as national civil rights activist John Barnett spoke to the crowd, asking for the senseless violence to stop.
“Life is precious young Black men,” Barnett said. “We are dying at a rapid rate.”
Meanwhile, Coker vowed to get justice for her son and to keep pushing for answers. Hampton police have not released information on a suspect, and the shooting continues to be under investigation.
“We’re going to get justice for Vic’Quan,” Coker said.
