NORFOLK, Va. – A shooting in broad daylight left one man dead and his friends and family in mourning.
50-year-old Andre Valentine was found shot to death in the 900-block of Avenue H in Norfolk.
“That was my best friend, and I’m going to miss him,” said Michael Norman, through tears. “It’s just so real right now. I don’t know what’s going on right now.”
Norman told News 3’s Merris Badcock he did not see this coming.
“When I saw him last night he said, ‘I love you…I’ll see you tomorrow,” Norman said. But tomorrow never came.
Police identified the 50-year-old victim as Andre E. Valentine. Valentine was found dead of a gunshot wound in the middle of the 900 block of Avenue H just before 11 a.m. Monday.
Valentine’s friends say he was a good person, and they have no idea why the he was targeted.
“He was on the right track,” said Sam Yancy, who told News 3 he had known the victim since Yancy was a child. “He wasn’t doing nothing out here, so I don’t even understand why this happened.”
Police roped off most of Avenue H, and some of Davidson Street in Norfolk while they continued the investigation. Neighbors tell News 3 the area is usually pretty safe, and they have bonded over the loss of one of their own.
“It is someone’s son,” said Nellie Lawson, who has lived in the neighborhood her entire life. “Someone has just lost a son today, and it is very sad, because it could be anybody.
“But until it hits you, you don’t know the feeling.”
According to police, this marks the 32nd homicide this year in Norfolk. That does not include the five officer-involved shootings that resulted in fatalities.
The case is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to take action and call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
