HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Gun violence on our streets has left families heartbroken and young people dead and injured.
Hampton Roads sawan uptick in gun violence during the hot summer months, coming off the heels of COVID-19 restrictions ending.
Gun violence is also impacting schools. In Newport News, a school shooting at Heritage High School in September injured two students.
Officer Roger Whitley with the Norfolk Police Department encourages adults to properly store their guns and keep them out of the hands of children.
"The best way to store a gun is going to be in a gun safe," Officer Whitley said.
Other ways to store guns from children include, "Trigger locks and gun locks, gun faults. Then there are also gun cabinets," Officer Whitley tells News 3 reporter Leondra Head.
He warns that adults should secure their weapons.
"Keep them out of the reach of kids. Spend the extra money. Get a gun safe that’s going to provide that type of security so the kids can’t get a hold of it or criminals who may harm somebody," he said.
Officer Whitley says times have changed.
"The days of people storing guns in the closet on the shelf thinking kids can’t get to them or putting them in the drawer where they think kids won’t find them - those days are gone. Kids are inquisitive, and they can get to firearms."
