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Cities in Hampton Roads see fewer homicide victims over past 3 years, data shows

In 2024, the number of homicide victims recorded across the seven cities decreased to 144.
Triple Shooting on Corprew Ave.
Posted 8:45 PM, Jan 15, 2025
and last updated 5:14 PM, Jan 23, 2025

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Homicides across the Hampton Roads region have gone down in the past three years, according to data from News 3's Homicide Tracker project.

News 3 continues to track homicides in Hampton Roads with its interactive map, a project that News 3 investigative producer Brianna Lanham started in 2023.

This project aggregates, tracks and reports homicide deaths throughout the Hampton Roads region.

WTKR 2024 Homicide Tracker

News

Hampton Roads 2024 Homicide Tracker

Brianna Lanham
3:37 PM, Jan 09, 2024

News 3 recently released its Hampton Roads 2025 Homicide Tracker, which is updated weekly and has up-to-date information on homicides that have happened in Hampton Roads so far this year.

track track.jpg

Crime

Hampton Roads 2025 Homicide Tracker

Brianna Lanham
3:09 PM, Jan 09, 2025

In 2024, the number of homicide victims recorded across the seven cities decreased to 144.

That's nearly 29% fewer homicide deaths compared to the 202 homicides seen in 2023, and about 34% fewer homicide victims compared to 217 homicide deaths in 2022.

We contacted the seven police departments in Hampton Roads for updates on suspects charged in homicides this year.

Below is a three-year breakdown of homicide trends seen in each of the seven cities:

Chesapeake

In 2024, data shows Chesapeake saw the fewest homicide deaths seen in Hampton Roads with 10, followed by Suffolk with 11 homicide victims.

In 2022, Chesapeake recorded 11 homicide deaths, which is nearly 56% fewer homicides victims than the 25 recorded the year before.

Data shows Chesapeake saw a murder rate of 3.92 per 100,000 people in 2024, which is a nearly 9% decrease from the 2023 murder rate of 4.33 per 100,000 people.

News 3 used the most recent population data from the U.S. Census Bureau to calculate the murder rate for Hampton Roads cities in 2023 and sourced 2024 population data from the World Population Review.

Chesapeake saw the second lowest murder rate in Hampton Roads last year, preceded by Virginia Beach with a murder rate of 2.88 per 100,000 people.

In 2024, the city recorded four months in which it did not see a single homicide victim, data shows. The previous year, the city saw five months with no homicide deaths, according to the News 3 Homicide Tracker.

Chesapeake recorded two homicide victims in both June and November, more than any other months in 2024. The year prior, data shows three homicide deaths were recorded in January, marking the most homicide victims documented for the year.

At least nine of the 10 victims who died by homicide in Chesapeake last year died by firearm.

Hampton

The City of Hampton saw far fewer homicides in 2024 than it did last year, according to the News 3 Homicide Tracker.

Data shows Hampton saw 15 homicide victims last year, a nearly 44% decrease from the 27 homicide deaths recorded in 2023. In 2022, Hampton documented 20 homicide deaths, which is 25% fewer than the number of homicide victims seen in 2024.

Last year, Hampton saw a murder rate of 10.95 per 100,000 people, which is about a 44% decrease from the 2023 murder rate of 19.69 per 100,000 people.

In January, the city recorded three homicide victims, more than any other month in 2024. In 2023, the city recorded eight victims in January, which was the most homicide deaths seen in a single month for the city, followed by May with five homicide deaths.

Hampton documented fewer homicide victims this year compared to the previous two years, and data shows the city recorded two months in which it did not see a single homicide victim in 2024, compared to the previous year when it maintained three months without a homicide death.

Data shows all 15 victims who died by homicide in Hampton last year died by firearm.

In a statement to News 3, Master Police Officer with the Hampton Police Department J. L. Dye said:

"The Hampton Police Division is committed to providing the highest quality service to our community. Through strategic partnerships with state and federal agencies, we actively work to identify individuals who pose a risk to public safety. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Virginia State Police and the Bold Blue Line initiative, we have significantly expanded our presence in key areas throughout the city. Additionally, we prioritize community engagement, which allows us to pinpoint specific concerns and collaborate with community members to promote flexible and effective solutions to quality-of-life issues."
Master Police Officer J. L. Dye, Hampton Police Department

Newport News

Newport News recorded 23 homicide deaths last year, a 25% decrease from the 31 homicide victims documented in 2022 and about 52% fewer homicide victims than the 48 homicide deaths seen in 2023.

The city ranks third for the most homicide deaths recorded in 2024, preceded by Norfolk and Portsmouth.

Last year, Newport News saw a murder rate of 12.63 per 100,000 people, a nearly 52% decrease from the prior year's murder rate of 26.21 per 100,000 people.

Data shows the city saw the most homicide deaths for this year in September with four, compared to last year's deadliest month for homicides which was August with 10 homicide victims.

According to the News 3 Homicide Tracker, Newport News recorded one month with no homicide deaths, both this year and last.

News 3 reached out to the Newport News Police Department for a statement but the Chief of Police was not available at the time.

22 of the 23 victims who died by homicide in Newport News last year died by firearm, and one victim was killed in a stabbing.

Norfolk

The City of Norfolk saw the second most homicide victims compared to any other city in Hampton Roads last year, preceded by Portsmouth, according to the News 3 Homicide Tracker.

However, data shows Norfolk documented fewer homicide victims this year compared to the previous two years.

Norfolk saw 35 homicide victims last year, a nearly 17% decrease from the 42 homicide deaths recorded in 2023. In 2022, the city documented 63 homicide deaths, which is 80% more than the number of homicide victims seen in 2024, data shows.

Last year, Norfolk saw a murder rate of 15.31 per 100,000 people, a nearly 16% decrease from the prior year's murder rate of 18.19 per 100,000 people.

In July, the city recorded seven homicide victims, more than any other month in 2024. In 2023, the city recorded six victims in April, which was the most homicide deaths seen in a single month for the city, followed by the months of July, August, September, and December with five homicide deaths.

At least 26 of the 35 victims who died by homicide in Norfolk last year were killed in a shooting. At least three victims died by stabbing and at least one victim died by strangulation.

Portsmouth

The City of Portsmouth saw more homicide deaths than any other city in Hampton Roads last year, according to News 3's Homicide Tracker.

However, data also shows Portsmouth documented fewer homicide victims this year compared to the previous two years.

Data shows Portsmouth saw 37 homicide victims in 2024, a nearly 5% decrease from the 39 homicide deaths recorded the previous year. In 2022, Portsmouth documented 42 homicide deaths, which is about 12% fewer than the number of homicide victims seen last year.

In 2024, Portsmouth saw a murder rate of 38.38 per 100,000 people. That's about a 5% decrease from the previous year's murder rate of 40.29 per 100,000 people.

In April, the city recorded seven homicide victims, the most it recorded in all of 2024. In 2023, the most homicide deaths seen in a single month was February with nine victims, followed by January with six homicide deaths.

Data shows the city saw at least one homicide death during each month of 2024.

At least 36 of the 37 victims who died by homicide in Portsmouth last year were killed in a shooting.

Suffolk

Last year, data shows Suffolk ranked second for the fewest homicide deaths seen in Hampton Roads with 11, preceded by Chesapeake with 10 homicide victims.

In 2023, Suffolk again recorded 11 homicides. The year prior, the count was 13.

According to the News 3 Homicide Tracker, Suffolk saw a murder rate of 10.72 per 100,000 last year, a nearly 2% decrease from the prior year's murder rate of 10.93 per 100,000 people.

This year, data shows the city documented five months in which it did not see a single homicide victim — that's more months without a homicide death than any other city in Hampton Roads for 2024, according to the News 3 Homicide Tracker.

Data shows Suffolk recorded four homicide victims in September, more than any other month for 2024. In 2023, data shows three homicide deaths were recorded in both March and May, marking the most homicide victims documented for the year.

In 2024, at least 10 of the 11 victims who died by homicide in Suffolk were killed in a shooting.

In a statement to News 3, Suffolk Police Chief James "Danny" Buie said:

“We are working very hard on being proactive in reducing our violent crimes. We utilize our crime intelligence to focus on our most violent offenders. We utilize actionable intelligence. Which means we don’t just go out blind and look for violent offenders we focus in on our most wanted violent offenders. We work hard to strengthen our smaller crime fighting units that can focus on violent offenders. We are very proactive in reducing illegal firearms possession, narcotics and gang activity within our city. We utilize modern technology as a force multiplier and we partner with our local agencies, state agencies and federal agencies. I am proud to say that as Suffolk continues to grow in population our overall crime continues to reduce. This is an attribute to all of the hard work that is put in daily and our great relationship with our community.”
Suffolk Police Chief James “Danny” Buie

Virginia Beach

Data shows Virginia beach ranked third for the fewest homicide deaths seen in Hampton Roads in 2024 with 13, preceded by Suffolk and Chesapeake.

In 2023, Virginia Beach recorded 24 homicide victims, which is nearly a 46% increase from last year's recorded total. In 2022, the city recorded 23 homicide deaths.

In 2024, the city saw a murder rate of 2.88 per 100,000 people. That's nearly a 46% decrease from the previous murder rate of 5.29 per 100,000 people.

Last year, data shows the city recorded four months in which it did not see a single homicide victim, an improvement from 2023 when the city saw two months with no homicide deaths, according to the News 3 Homicide Tracker.

The city recorded two homicide deaths in March, April, May, September, and December — more than any other months in Virginia Beach last year. In 2023, data shows four homicide deaths were recorded in April and June, again marking the most homicide victims documented for the year.

At least 11 of the 13 victims who died by homicide in Virginia Beach last year, died by firearm. At least one victim was killed in a stabbing.

In a statement to News 3, Chief Communications Officer Jody Saunders with the Virginia Beach Police Department said:

“We attribute our 46% reduction in homicides for the year 2024 to several factors, to include a prioritized focus on the small group of individuals willing to engage in gun violence; increased use of technology to include camera expansion (both closed circuit and license plate reader); excellent work by our Detective Bureau resulting in quick arrests; the dedication of the VB Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to successfully prosecute homicide and shooting cases resulting in convictions, and our courts that ensure sentencing is commensurate with the offense. If you decide to engage in shooting violence in the City of Virginia Beach, rest assured that there is a high probability that you will be arrested, convicted, and sentenced to a substantial prison term.”
Chief Communications Officer Jody Saunders, Virginia Beach Police Department