Posted on 05/26/2019 1:59:19 PM PDT by csvset
CHESAPEAKE
Ten people were shot late Saturday night at a block party in the Holly Cove neighborhood near the Portsmouth border, and one man has died from his injuries, police said this morning.
No suspects have been identified yet and police still do not know what sparked one of the city's most violent incidents in the past several years.
None of the nine other gunshot victims faced life-threatening injuries, though the situation was fluid, police spokesman Leo Kosinski said he heard in a 9 a.m. update.
It is still unknown whether those victims are in stable or critical condition, according to police and a Sentara hospital spokesman. The identity or age of the man who died around 2 a.m. at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital has not been released.
The status of the seven other male gunshot victims transferred to Sentara's trauma center last night is still unclear because their names haven't been released, according to hospital spokesman Dale Gauding. Two others were sent to different local hospitals.
Gauding, who has worked for Sentara for 15 years, said that before Saturday's shooting, he can't remember a single incident that brought more than four people into the hospital for gunshot wounds.
"I am shocked," Mayor Rick West said when he learned of the shooting this morning. "Holly Cove has its share of crime like any other neighborhood, but I'm shocked — 10 people."
The shootings happened near a group of townhomes at the intersection of Holly Cove and Schooner Trail. More than a dozen people were milling about this morning and no police were at the scene.
Greg Lamb, 56, has lived in the area for about three years with his wife and children. He said the neighborhood often hosts block parties.
"This is not the first time they had that event," Lamb said. "It's just the first time something violent like that happened."
The Memorial Day weekend party, he said, started in the late afternoon with several people setting up while others cooked and turned on music. As the sun was setting, two people rapped on top of a U-Haul truck as dozens of people gathered in the street and nearby front yards, according to a video of the party posted to Facebook.
"This is our Something in the Water," one man said in the video, referring to a Virginia Beach festival last month that drew stars like Jay-Z, Pharrell and Missy Elliott.
Later in the evening, the trouble started.
Around 9 p.m. Saturday, Chesapeake Police responded to a call at the intersection of Holly Cove Drive and Airline Boulevard, where the large party led to noise complaints and traffic congestion as people refused to move for vehicles, Kosinski said.
Officers cleared the scene and left.
About an hour later, they got another call for the same complaints. Kosinski said they devised a new plan of attack to ensure the problems didn't continue, and then started driving back to the neighborhood.
While they were on the way, gunshots erupted.
"We were there fairly quickly," Kosinski said. "But it was very chaotic."
At the scene, officers found that multiple people had been shot, he said, adding that all of the injuries happened either on the street or in people's yards.
A man live-streamed the immediate aftermath of the shooting in a Periscope video. When shots rung out, he said was just waiting for food and had to duck to avoid being hit. Several kids were next to him, he said.
"All I heard was shots fired and people running toward me," he said in the video, repeating the "pop-pop-pop" of gunshots. "I just kept hearing gunshots."
About 20 minutes after the shooting, he said he was stuck in his car on the street, while police were on the scene. Officers closed off the neighborhood's entrance, off Airline Boulevard, while they worked to restore the peace, preserve the crime scene and collect evidence.
For the rest of the long weekend, Kosinski said, there will be an increased police presence in the neighborhood.
Roughly 12 hours after the deadly incident, police still do not know what sparked the altercation, and Kosinski said he's not sure if it qualifies as a "mass shooting" because it depends on intent.
"The police are doing a thorough investigation so that they can do everything in their power to prevent something like this from happening again," the mayor said.
After the shooting, Kosinski said a lot of residents in the neighborhood can be too scared to come forward with information so he recommends that people call the city's anonymous tip line, 1-888-LOCK-U-UP℠.
Is the title right or was it supposed to say “black” party? /s
No, they're not. They didn't say anything after 10 people were shot in Trenton just yesterday, the shootings in Chicago, and all the gang-bangers killing each other with automatic weapons for decades.
Black-on-black gun violence doesn't fit the narrative and in cruel irony, it meets the Left's agenda of seeing blacks get slaughtered.
On April 28 (old news, I know) there was an “after-prom” party at a “club”. There were 40 to 50 shots fired from at least 3 or 4 different handguns. One ‘teen’ was arrested after being seen tossing his gun—ironically it had not been shot. No one was killed or even injured. This happened in sleepy Cape Girardeau, MO. While there is no doubt as to the demographic group that attended the party, local media has been very careful not reveal who was at the party. As far as I know, even though close to 100 were there, no shooter has been identified and few if any witnesses have come forward.
How obnoxious. Airline Bldv. is a major thoroughfare. I'm sure a permit and traffic-direction is required for any event that's going to prevent normal traffic flow.
Well, it wouldn’t be a “mass shooting” in the usual sense if several people were shooting at several other people. It would just be an armed melee.
DAM YOU WHITE PRIVLEDGED PEOPLE!!
Amish? Or was it the Norwegians this time?
I have to assume that the block party was largely attended by right wing NRA member gun nuts. Am I right?
“Officers cleared the scene and left.”
Apparently they didn’t.
L
According to the second amendment there are no illegally owned firearms. What do we fail to understand about "shall not be infringed"?
If you can’t be trusted to be armed you should not be running around loose.
Keepin’ it real in da 757!
What do we fail to understand? That these rights are not granted by government. They already belong to us, and no one can take them away.
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