NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — October is domestic violence awareness month, and the NNPD are taking a stance to raise awareness.
Police and community members walked to raise awareness.
One Newport News grandmother, Darlene Guynn, says her granddaughter was killed due to domestic violence. She says 6-year-old Harper Monroe lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.
"She had just turned 6 years old, and I’m still in mourning and devastated," Guynn said. "Her [Harper Monroe's mother] boyfriend shot her and the baby. The baby got shot. Both of them died on scene. Police had already been there four times that night for the same domestic stuff. But they didn’t remove anyone and put them in separate rooms."
She says a welfare check was done and that’s when police found the two dead.
Her advice to others dealing with domestic violence: "You must leave because you only have one life to live."
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According to the CDC, one in five women are killed by an intimate partner.
"Domestic violence is still one of the most dangerous calls officers go on. It’s a hard case to prosecute and one of the leading calls for service we have," Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said. "Domestic violence doesn’t have a particular neighborhood, race, culture, group or profession. It can happen anywhere."
