HAMPTON, Va. — "How many more times do we have to do this?
"How many more grieving mothers do we need to console because of these senseless acts of violence?
"How many more teenagers do I have to stand at the side of a casket?
"How many more families do I have to pray for?"
That was the message from Pastor Jason Taylor of Revelation Church during a press conference on Friday, as he, along with family and friends of Vic'Quan Destin-Thazir Newton, spoke about the teen killed in a shooting on Monday.
Hampton police say the 17-year-old was shot multiple times near Michigan Drive — he drove away — then crashed his car on La Salle Avenue. No arrests have been made.
He was one of four teens across Hampton Roads shot in the past week — three of whom died.
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“I really was and still am in a state of disbelief," Newton's mother, Viccarra Coker, told News 3 on Wednesday. “My son did not live a lifestyle that aligned with how he lost his life.”
She described her son as an intelligent boy, a solid student, an entrepreneur, and a star on the Hampton High football team.
“It’s insane, it’s absolutely insane and it needs to stop," Coker said Friday. "Anyone who knows anything as it relates to who killed my baby, please come forward.”
Coker ended the press conference with a message to her son's killer.
“You did not have the right to take my child,” said Coker.
Police are encouraging anyone with information to come forward. You can even leave an anonymous tip with the crime line by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
