NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The shooting death of 18-year-old Jasiah Smith is the latest loss shaking what residents call the numbered streets of Newport News, and for community activist Yugonda Sample-Jones, it's part of a cycle she says has lasted far too long.
"It's definitely not new, most certainly too long," Sample-Jones said.
Smith was shot in the East End area of Newport News early Wednesday morning and later died at the hospital.
While the pain feels constant for neighbors, the city says progress is happening. Newport News recorded 18 homicides last year — the fewest in more than a decade — and gun violence overall has dropped 48% since 2023 as part of a broader community safety plan focused on prevention and partnerships.
But Sample-Jones says numbers don't always reflect what residents feel day to day.
"When I came home from a meeting, it was three — four police officers just coming by my street while I was sitting in my car… and I just had an overwhelming feeling of being unsafe in my community," Sample-Jones said.
She works with the Newport News Street Team — a collective already mediating conflicts without funding.
"This is a collective group that's already doing work without funding," Sample-Jones said.
She believes empowering grassroots groups is the key to lasting change.
"Enable to empower them to be able to do what they do already is what's gonna stop this violence in our streets," Sample-Jones said.
Following Smith's death, Sample-Jones says reputation alone doesn't define the numbered street neighborhoods.
"It's very hurtful. I find nothing but love — families, connections, networking," Sample-Jones said.
For her, every shooting is more than a statistic.
"It is removing a whole generation… people that have so much life to give," Sample-Jones said.
She says lasting safety starts from within — with real investment in the people already doing the work.
