HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) – With two more interstate shootings taking place in Hampton Roads Wednesday, 10 On Your Side is taking a closer look at the recent rash of them across the region.
Virginia State Police say there have been 43 interstate shootings across Virginia this year, 22 of those have been in Hampton Roads.
Troopers say a 24-year-old man died at the scene after being shot on I-664 in Newport News Wednesday. Troopers say a suspect fired at the passenger side of the car, killing the driver. Another person was injured in a different shooting on I-664 early Wednesday morning between Chestnut Avenue and Aberdeen Road in Hampton, near the Newport News line.
Another man died after an interstate shooting in Chesapeake late last month.
State Police said this is just the latest act of gun violence on the roadways.
There have been 22 shootings alone in Division 5 since the first of the year. Division 5 covers all of Hampton Roads.
Of the 22 shootings, eight have taken place in Hampton, six in Norfolk, three in Chesapeake, two in both Portsmouth and Newport News and one in Virginia Beach.
Two, including Tuesday night’s, have been deadly.
Earlier this summer state police told us not all of these shootings are random acts of violence, they say in some of these shootings the suspect and victim knew each other.
AAA Mid Atlantic said road rage shootings are continuing to climb each year.
They say according to “Every Town”, 554 people were shot during road rage incidents in 2022 — double the numbers from 2018.
They say while it isn’t possible to control another driver’s behavior, there are steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of road rage.
“Communicating early and often, we like to say out there on the road, whether that be with your turn signal, signaling switching lanes, turning right or left things like that,” said Ryan Adcock, AAA Tidewater Virginia public relations and community outreach specialist, “as well as just making sure you’re leaving enough space around you for other people to maneuver around your car as well as for yourself to maneuver around those other cars as well.”
AAA said you don’t want to be anywhere near drivers experiencing road rage.
They say if you do find yourself near a driver who is angry, avoid eye contact and don’t get out of your car.
“The traffic safety culture in general is just going in a direction that we do not want to see it go in,” Adcock said, “so practicing these rules of the road and just following the rules of the law of the road in general we are hoping can help diminish this problem.”
State Police are still looking for the suspect in Wednesday night’s deadly shooting on I-664. They say if you were in the area prior to 6:30 p.m. and witnessed any unusual activity involving a Silver 2008 Jeep Compass on I-664, call 757-424-6800.
