NORFOLK, Va. - It’s a rare day in the newsroom when we don’t report gunfire somewhere in Hampton Roads. When that bullet takes a life, we follow it to the communities where it happened.
According to Norfolk Police, 780 Black men were killed in gun violence over three decades - more than any other group. Each number represents a family in pain.
Police tell us the guns were bought legally and locally. That inspired Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone to launch research to get to the source of how these weapons are ending up in communities of color.
News 3 anchor Barbara Ciara met him on the scene of one of the recent killings. He seemed frustrated - that in the face of these numbers, in his view there’s no sense of urgency to do something about it.
Chief Boone says he is enlisting the help of federal law enforcement in his quest to find source of these guns connected to crimes. He says his research reveals that the guns they’ve confiscated were bought legally, mostly in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
He believes if you trace the trigger back to the original owner, they will be one step closer to learning how they are getting into the hands of the wrong people.
Chief Boone scheduled a meeting with Sen. Tim Kaine on the issue of gun violence Thursday as a part of the senator’s roundtable on gun violence. We’ll have more from the roundtable tonight on News 3 at 11 p.m.
Related: News 3 investigates an increase in gun violence after shootings on the Peninsula
