PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Portsmouth detectives are investigating a homicide in the Churchland area near the 4400 block of Hatton Point.
Detectives provided an update on the investigation Wednesday.
They say they were investigating an incident where an 18-year-old male suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, near High Street around 2:41 a.m. on Tuesday
While investigating, a second victim was discovered near the 4400 block of Hatton Point, around 7:11 a.m. The victim was a 16-year-old male who had been fatally shot. Detectives say they have informed the teen's family.
When a News 3 photographer arrived on scene around 3:20 p.m., neighbors told us the scene had been cleaned up for hours.
Some neighbors told us they heard what sounded like fireworks Monday night around 8 p.m. Tuesday morning, a body was found on a private drive behind Blessed Hope Christian Center, a church at the corner of Hatton Point Road and Riveredge Drive.
At the same time some neighbors heard what turned out to be gunshots, they told us there was a neighborhood board meeting inside the fellowship hall of the church and that the people gathered inside did not hear the gunshots.
A silver sedan was reportedly seen in the area around the alleged time of the incident Monday night, and some of the people who spoke to us were confused as to why police hadn't released any "be on the lookout" information.
Blessed Hope Pastor H.D. Ford and his wife, Geraldine, said they came to the church to meet with contractors around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday and were met by lots of police officers, but said they weren't told of the circumstances until they put "two and two together," as they weren't allowed to the back of the church building where the body was found. They also told us the police left around 10:30 a.m.
A number of people told us a neighbor had Ring video of the sound of gunshots last night and shared it with police, but nobody we spoke to was able to pull up the video on their phones. They also said the incident was talked about on the Nextdoor app.
This is all information neighbors told us; police haven't released any further details about the homicide.
Anyone who has information about this homicide is asked to call the Portsmouth Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit at (757) 393-8536 or to submit an anonymous tip through the Portsmouth Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887).
Callers can also submit an anonymous tip through the Crime Line’s “P3 Tips” app or visit their website here. As always, Crime Line tipsters are never asked to give their name or required to testify in court. If a crime line caller’s tip leads to an arrest, the recovery of drugs or stolen property they could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1000.
