PORTSMOUTH, Va. - State Sen. Louise Lucas is calling for a stronger police presence in the city afterTuesday's deadly mass shooting in Portsmouth.She says this is just the latest example of the need for added law enforcement.
"We keep doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. It's not gonna happen. We need to have boots on the ground," Sen. Lucas said in a phone interview with News 3.
The senator says in addition to the city's police officers and the sheriff's department, state police and "any other outside sources" need to have a presence in the city. She attributed the success of April's 420ish Unity Festival to added law enforcement, which ensured the safety of everyone in attendance.
"Look what we did at the 420ish Festival. We had a presence there, and there was not one fight, not one arrest, not even a ticket was written. We can't solve these problems unless we have police officers on the ground," she said.
Lucas also said there are budget amendments for money to come into the Cities of Portsmouth, Norfolk and Hampton.
Three people were killed and another person was seriously injured near the 1500 block of Maple Avenue Tuesday morning. This is the latest incident in a string of gun violence in the city.
According to Portsmouth Police, there have been 12 shootings in the last seven days. Authorities said some were gang-related, while others were not.
