PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Tuesday, Angela Britt joined Portsmouth Police and others for a R.E.S.E.T. Walk, walking around Nashville Avenue after two men were shot and killed in the neighborhood. This was one of two deadly shootings in the city this past weekend.
“This is like the wild wild west,” Britt said. “This is a gun violence pandemic.”
Britt lost her grandson, Ashanti Britt, to gun violence last year, and is speaking up for a solution from leaders throughout Virginia.
“I’m not just out here for my grandson. I’m out here for all grandsons, sons, and daughters that’ve been murdered,” Britt said.
This all comes as a new federal report on gun violence highlights a rise in "ghost guns."
News 3 has previously reported on these firearms that don’t have serial numbers, can't be traced, and can be made from kits bought online or through 3-D printers.
READ: News 3 Investigates 'ghost guns' recovered in Hampton Roads
According to the Associated Press, the ATF traced more than 19,000 privately made firearms in 2021, more than double the year before.
The AP further reports that the jump is the result in part of the agency encouraging police to send it the weapons so they can be traced, even though they typically haven’t yielded as much information as typical firearms.
According to the AP, the weapons do have unique ballistics and other characteristics that can be useful to investigators.
“It’s very difficult to find the originators,” Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover said.
Glover told News 3 he and other mayors across the country have discussed the issue of ghost guns.
“It’s a major problem,” he said.
Shana Turner, who lost her son, Shaq, to gun violence in Hampton Roads in 2017, is concerned about ghost guns.
“It’s very terrifying to me,” Turner said.
Since her son’s death, Turner and others have been supporting families like hers through her group Hampton Roads M.A.S.K. (Mothers and Men Against Senseless Killings), while raising awareness of issues, like ghost guns, and keeping kids safe.
“We’ve also got to think about when we let our children go to other people’s homes, and they’re on the internet, they can be in the room creating these guns,” Turner said.
Meanwhile, Glover said Portsmouth police have been investing in resources, including more officers and technology like license-plate readers, to help curb gun violence.
“It’s always difficult to hear about a loss of life, and any loss of life is not acceptable,” Glover said.
Tuesday, News 3 reached out to Portsmouth Police to see if ghost guns are an issue in the city.
As of Tuesday night, News 3 is still waiting on a response.
Last August, a new federal rule went into effect includes creating requirements for federally licensed firearms dealers and gunsmiths to have a serial number added to 3-D printed guns or other un-serialized firearms they take into inventory.
