Virginia Beach, Va. - Businesses at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront are hoping for a calmer weekend after last Saturday's violent night that included three shootings, three stabbings and three robberies.
Robin Kellam manages with Candy Kitchen on Atlantic Avenue. Her business closed early because of the chaos outside last Saturday.
This weekend, she'd like to see a great police presence at the Oceanfront to keep the situation from happening again.
"The police need to be out here this weekend, but they need to be out here every weekend but especially the next few weeks to prove to these thugs that Virginia Beach isn’t going to put up with this," Kellam explained.
Virginia Beach Police wouldn't tell NewsChannel 3 how many officers will be on patrol at the Oceanfront this weekend when asked Friday, citing "officer safety" and calling it a "tactical situation."
However, they did say 81 officers were on patrol last Friday. That number was bumped to 112 for Saturday night which was later augmented to 142.
Kellam hopes the Beach can maintain a family-friendly image to keep business coming in as the summer tourism season approaches.
"People love coming here. They say that all the time – this is one of the nicest, cleanest beaches. But if we keep having this reputation, they’re not going to want to come," Kellam explained.
Related:
Beach residents speak out about violent weekend at the Oceanfront on local radio station
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Chaotic Saturday night at the Oceanfront; 3 shootings, 3 stabbings, and 3 robberies
