PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The Portsmouth Police Department is investigating after a boy was killed and another boy was injured in a shooting late Friday night.
According to police, the shooting occurred near the 1800 block of South Street at 10:57 p.m.
One of the victims, a 17-year-old boy, was taken to the hospital for treatment for a critical gunshot wound.
The other victim, a second 16-year-old boy, was fatally shot.
The victims have not been identified.
Investigators released a photo of a possible suspect vehicle. Authorities believe there were at least two people inside at the time of the shooting.
On Monday they released more photos of the suspect vehicle and said it appears to be a black Lincoln SUV from 2011–2014 and could be the MKC or MKX. The vehicle does appear to have Virginia tags and blue LED headlights.
This is the third teenager to die at the hands of gun violence within 26 hours in Portsmouth.
A resident of Swanson Homes who did not want to be identified says she heard the gunshots rang out Friday night.
"All I heard last night was a lot of shooting. It was a lot of chaos going on last night. We automatically dropped to the floor. That’s all we could do - was just drop until we heard silence."
The mother of four says she’s hesitant to let her kids play on the playground near where the shooting took place.
"It wasn’t safe last night for the babies here. I want the kids to play at the park; they can’t play at the park because you have young men that’s acting crazy out here and want to shoot innocent kids."
Darrell Redmond, a Portsmouth native and founder of a non-profit organization that helps young kids and teenagers, says crime has gotten worse in Portsmouth in recent years.
"Things have just taken a whole different turn. When we were coming up, it was a fight and now it’s a gun. That’s the part that frustrates me. It's no more fighting. It seems like it's senseless shootings," Redmond said.
Portsmouth’s Vice Mayor De'Andre Barnes believes recreation centers need to be open more for Portsmouth’s youth.
"We need a new rec center. We need to upgrade our rec centers. We also need to make sure we’re opening them at good times. Right now, our rec centers do not open up on the weekend," Barnes tells News 3 reporter Leondra Head.
Barnes says he’s pushing for more funding.
"What I brought to table already and we’re looking to do that with our funds is put $3 million into our rec programs," Barnes said.
Related: Summer surge in gun violence prompting Portsmouth city leaders to take action
If you or someone you know has information in this case that could lead to an arrest, take action and call the Portsmouth Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division at (757) 393–8536, call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887) or submit a tip via the P3Tips app or online here.
