VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Freddie Tuggle is shocked at the shooting that took place on his street Tuesday night.
“I’m, like, ‘Oh my god!’ I couldn’t believe it," Tuggle said, standing outside his town home on Peele Court Wednesday afternoon.
His town home had numerous bullet holes. He said he heard the shots.
“My son called me and said ‘Pop, look out the window!,'" Tuggle recalled. "I saw all these cops."
At least one bullet also went through a window on the front of the town home, hitting and damaging the back of a ceramic cross, but the front of the cross with an image of Jesus on it was not damaged.
“How that didn’t get destroyed, I don’t get it," said Tuggle. "But, that’s how Jesus rolls."
Police had not released many details as of Wednesday, but a neighbor told News 3 a young boy they believed to be 7 or 8 years old, was shot.
Tuesday night, police identified the person shot as a juvenile but did not say how old they were or whether they were a boy or girl. Police also said the juvenile was a bystander.
Virginia Beach
Child shot in VB; neighbor reacts to gunfire
Tuggle said he knows the young boy.
“He’s always out here playing," Tuggle emphasized. "He’s a happy kid. I just couldn’t believe it. I’m, like, ‘Who’s shooting at a kid? Who’s shooting period?’ This is ridiculous."
Bullet holes could be seen Wednesday in a window of the town home where neighbors said the young boy was shot inside, but how and why Tuggle's home across the street was shot was unclear.
“When I looked from my window, I didn’t see anything," said a man who lives on Peele Court.
The man agreed to be interviewed but asked News 3 not use his name. He heard the gunshots, but thought someone was banging on a trash can.
“It’s really frustrating and I feel scared, you know?" the man said.
Residents on Peele Court weren't the only ones reacting, though, Wednesday.
“My son came down and told me he heard several shots and then a woman scream," said Jacqueline Zamora, who lives one street over from Peele Court.
She said this is not the first case of recent gun violence in the area.
Homepage
Property & violent crime in VB see drop in 2023, but shootings increased
“It’s not safe anymore. We have kids that play outside in the cul-de-sac and play basketball and run around," said Zamora. "I feel bad (because) parents probably don’t feel like their kids can do that anymore."
She wonders if the gun violence could be gang-related.
We don't know, exactly, if it's all related," said Zamora. "People have been talking, saying they think it's gang-related, gang initiation. But we really don't know, and it doesn't feel like the police really know much either."
As of Wednesday, she was looking for a new place to live.
News 3 reached out to Virginia Beach police Wednesday for an update on the shooting but did not get a response.
