NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A 15-year-old boy who school officials say attended Menchville High was killed early Tuesday morning in a shooting on the 1200 block of 16th Street near Garden Drive in Newport News, according to police.
Police went to the area to investigate an alert from a Shot Spotter—which are towers used by police to detect gunshots— around 6:30 a.m. When they got there, officers found a teen who had been shot, police say.
The teen was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries. A suspect or suspects have not been located as of this writing.
Following the shooting, Jason Hollar, the principal of Menchville High communicated with families and staff about the boy's death.
The message Principal Hollar shared with families and staff is as follows:
"It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of a tragic incident that occurred this morning near 16th Street and Garden Drive. One of our students was critically injured and has passed. Our thoughts are with the student and the student's family. The Newport News Police Department is actively leading the investigation. Tragic events like this can be difficult to process. We recognize that some students and staff will need additional support and encouragement. Members of the school division's support and response team are available at school today to meet and talk with students and staff. We encourage you to take advantage of these services. Thank you for your support."
Watch: Newport News chief asks public to come forward with information after teen boy killed
Around 9:30 a.m., Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said detectives were going to be working at the scene for a while. He got emotional as he shared that the teen's next of kin was being notified about their loss.
"What breaks my heart is there are a lot of kids walking to school today. That's heavy on me right now," Drew explained. "I saw some officers walking with kids for a couple blocks and talk to them. This is a tragedy today."
Watch: Raw footage of scene as police canvas following teen's shooting
He urged the public to reach out if they saw something or know something, stressing that no piece of information is too small.
"If there is anyone in this community, anyone at all that heard anything or saw anything—it’s kind of like pieces to a puzzle. Any information, I would like to have that come forward," said Drew. "It may not be anything at all, but I’d rather look at that and screen that and be able to push it to the side as opposed to someone thinking they heard something, saw something, and not let us know. And that may be the piece that we need."
“It touched my heart because it’s a young child going to school who didn’t make it to school. His life was taken," said Holley.
Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones released a statement expressing his condolences to the boy's family.
“Today our community was struck by a senseless tragedy. A young boy's life has been cut short, and my heart aches for his family and loved ones during this unimaginable time. Words cannot fully convey the grief we feel. I am grateful for the tireless efforts of our police officers who are working diligently to find those responsible and ensure justice is served.”
Like Drew, he encourages anyone with information to come forward.
"We do have some information coming in. We're going to rely a lot on technology, we're going to rely a lot on some information that we have," said Drew.
Shirley Holley, a resident of the area, said as a mother herself, she can imagine how the teen’s mother might be feeling.
“I do know she’s upset, hurt. Sending her child off to school and knowing she’ll never see him anymore, that’s sad," said Holley.
Holley believes more needs to be done for kids to try to prevent something like this from happening.
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“They’re building up for other things, but they’re not building for the youth. They have nowhere to go, so they take to the streets or social media," said Holley.
Newport News Public Schools also released a statement Tuesday, saying the district will have a support team for students and staff and the district's thoughts and prayers are with the teen's family.
Parents of Menchville High School students shared their reactions as they waited to pick their kids up from school Tuesday afternoon.
“My heart breaks for his family," parent Norman Beal said.
"It’s really sad," said parent Kacey Johnson.
Both parents said they reached out to their kids when they got a notification from thew school district about the shooting.
“First instinct was to get hold of my daughter and see if she was okay, because I didn’t really know exactly what happened," said Johnson.
“Texted them. My wife texted them, also. Then, I turned on the news to see what was going on. You want, and assume, your children will always be protected," Beal said. You do the best you can as a parent to protect your children but then you have things that are completely out of your control that can happen at a moment’s notice.”
Neither police nor the school district had said Tuesday afternoon if the teen was waiting for a school bus when he was shot. But according to the school district’s website, a school bus was scheduled to stop where the kid was shot at the same time he was shot.
Drew called the shooting a senseless act.
“It impacts all of us, right? Detectives, family, community, schools," Drew said.
Newport News Public Schools released a statement, saying a support team will be available to help students and staff and the school district’s thoughts and prayers go out to the teen’s family.
If you have any information on the shooting, please contact 911, the non-emergency line at 757-247-2500, or the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
