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Both domestic violence and gun violence are issues here in Hampton Roads and around the country.
But what happens when these two intersect?
According to the Associated Press, gun death rates are at their highest levels in decades.
Jazmine Smith may currently live in Hampton Roads, but her journey started roughly 20 years ago in Las Vegas.
“I felt really alone,” Smith said. “I was embarrassed.”
She says she met her ex-husband while she was in high school.
“The first time that he ever pulled a gun on me, I was 17, and it was my prom,” she recalled.
They ended up being together on and off for six years, even getting married while Smith served in the Army.
“I always felt guilted to be with him,” Smith said of her ex-husband. “I always thought, ‘We're going to get married, so you know that I'm committed to you, so the violence will stop.’ It was the complete opposite. It was, 'I own you now.'”
Over time, she said the violence got worse.
“He took the shotgun, and he made me open up my mouth and stand up against the wall, he put the shotgun in my mouth, and he made his brother and my brother come in and watch,” Smith said. “It got to a point where I was always thinking, ‘Just do it. I'm never going to be able to leave here. Just do it.'”
But the will to live came when she found out she was pregnant with her daughter, Breanna.
“I found out that I had a life inside of me, and all of a sudden, I wanted to live,” Smith said.
She eventually left her ex-husband, but Smith said the violence culminated one night in 2009 in Las Vegas while picking up her two-year-old daughter.
“He put his hands in and ripped the entire window off the car. As soon as he did that, I let go of the brake and started to go off. By that point, he grabbed me. He was strangling me in the car,” Smith said. “I didn't realize it, he had that gun in his hand the entire time, and he was choking me with one hand. He tries to shoot, but the gun is jammed. My daughter is in the back seat, halfway buckled into the car seat. She's screaming at the top of her lungs. [The] next thing you know, he's hitting me in the head with the gun. He bit my eyebrow. I definitely heard the gun go off. I had definitely seen it in his hand. He backed up from the car, and he took off running."
Smith says police caught, arrested, and charged her ex-husband, and he ended up serving time in prison.
“When you think of it, someone purchases a weapon, in most cases, to have in their home to protect their family, not to hurt their family,” Smith said.
RELATED: What resources are available for domestic violence survivors in Hampton Roads?
News 3 Investigates is digging deeper into the connection between gun violence and domestic violence.
A new study by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (EFSGV) found that in more than two-thirds of mass shootings analyzed, the perpetrator either killed family or intimate partners, or the shooter had a history of domestic violence.
“It's very concerning,” Sgt. Lanis Geluso with the Virginia Beach Police Dept. said about the study.
Sgt. Geluso has worked on domestic violence cases while with VBPD.
“Quite often, guns, if they're not being used during the crimes, there's a threat of potential firearms being used in the future,” Geluso said.
She says Virginia Beach Police offers safekeeping for weapons.
“What I have seen happen, if we have something that is going on, there's a concern that somebody is wanting to hurt themselves, or there may be a domestic situation, typically, we're going to ask if that person comes to pick up the gun, there's a note on it for an officer to meet with that individual,” Geluso said. “We want to ask those critical questions as far as, 'How are you, mentally? Do you want to hurt somebody? What's going on?' And try to see if there's anything further that would prevent them or would be more beneficial for them not to have that weapon.”
Geluso said emergency substantial risk orders have also been helpful since they went into effect in Virginia in 2020. These orders prevent someone who shows signs of being a threat to themselves or others from buying, possessing, or transporting a firearm.
According to Geluso, Virginia Beach had 11 of these orders issued in 2022. So far in 2023, she said three orders have been issued.
She also believes more can be done in the state when it comes to mental health.
“I do believe there needs to be more provisions put in place when allowing individuals access to weapons, in whatever capacity it is, based on their mental health history, treatment, or their lack of,” Geluso said.
RELATED: Family pushes for awareness following Va Beach man's domestic violence killing
As for Smith, she's now engaged and her family has grown with a newborn son.
She's also sharing her story with young people throughout Hampton Roads.
“A lot of my free time is spent with the youth,” Smith said. “In my mind, I'm thinking, 'Let me get to youth sooner. Let me be able to engage this younger generation before they grow up and make these types of mistakes.'”
Sgt. Geluso also says there are victim advocates who work for VBPD and respond to scenes anytime, day or night, to be with families and help them with food and other resources.
If you are in immediate danger and fear for your safety, call 911.
The Hampton Roads-based organization, Samaritan House, also has a 24-hour crisis hotline that can be reached at (757) 430-2120.
