HAMPTON, Va. - The number of juvenile gunshot victims in Hampton has risen 200% from the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of 2023, according to police chief Jimmie Wideman.
In a briefing to city council Wednesday, he called on the community to band together with police to help solve the issue.
News
Hampton Roads 2023 Homicide Tracker
"It's disheartening, but there's hope," said gun violence prevention advocate Adrian Cook.
Cook has a nonprofit on the Peninsula called Let Our Voices Empower. He helps youth get on the right track.
“When blood is shed, blood is shed and that’s serious," said Cook. "How do we redirect that, how do we change that?"
Chief Wideman told Hampton city council members Wednesday that there has been a significant increase in violent crime post-COVID across the nation, and that is true in Hampton too.
There were 13 murders from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2022. In that same time frame in 2023, there were 18 murders. Rape and sexual assaults also rose from 18 to 26, and robberies increased from 40 to 50, when comparing the same time frame.
“The violence is popping up everywhere and it’s making it that much harder to concentrate our efforts to deploy our resources proactively to prevent any violent crime, so oftentimes again with limited resources we have to be reactive,” said the chief.
It will take everyone - police and the community - to change the narrative, said Cook. “We just have to keep our efforts going, we have to be diligent in what we do."
