ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Elizabeth City Police Chief J. Phillip Webster on Friday is expected to present solutions to curb violence. It comes as the city's police department investigates a shooting on Wednesday that left three teens injured.
Officers responded to the 300 block of Speed Street around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday for a report of shots fired. They found two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old had been shot.
One of the 16-year-old juveniles was subsequently transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for serious injuries. The other two juveniles are listed in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
Community members, like Reubin Houston, said finding peace in the community has to do with the people who live there. It's why he strives to cool off his neighborhood with snow cones, or snowballs, as he calls the frozen treat.
Houston said Elizabeth City may be his hometown, but it looks a world different from when he was growing up because he said kids and teens today are spending more time shooting each other instead of shooting hoops.
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"When I was a kid, my buddy had a basketball, we used to play basketball all day," he said. "I think that kids don't have anything to do and they're out here just trying to show somebody that they're tough."
Houston said he firmly believes his snowcones help put the chill.
"A lot of the shootings aren't just protecting yourself, it's just senseless shootings, and I feel like a lot of times when people are coming together and they're buying snowballs and everybody is having a good time nobody's upset you know nobody gets upset after eating a snowball," said Houston.
Chief Webster said there are certain groups of juveniles in the city that make the streets feel unsafe. He said a recent program the department has created, the Elizabeth City Violence Prevention Program, will help curb some of the violence.
"It basically involves a call in for the parents of youth who we have identified as being prolific offenders in our community and it’s basically to give them an overview of what punishment they can face but also pair that partner with what resources are out there to defer that activity from engaging," said Chief Webster.
According to the police department, the violence prevention program kicked off last week for the first time.
Going forward, Webster hopes it will make a difference in the community, along with the positive acts of kindness presented by those who live there.
