PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — New doorbell camera reveals the moments after a 10-year-old boy was shot and killed in Portsmouth in broad daylight on Friday.
It’s confirmed by police that the incident appears to have started as a dispute between teenage girls, and the boy was shot by a stray bullet.
Police have arrested 31-year-old Shawnday Ross in connection to the incident. She has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Police are also searching for a person of interest. 26-year-old Cleon Deonte Banks is considered armed and dangerous, police said.
Portsmouth police said they were called to Farragut Street around 6:15 p.m. for reports of a shooting. When they arrived, a 10-year-old boy was suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound. He tragically died at the hospital.
John Morin-Leidig and Jennifer Dunleavy caught the sounds of shots fired on their doorbell camera. Moments later, a group of kids were seen running down the street as around 20 gunshots ring out.
Morin-Leidig told 10 On Your Side there were so many shots, they thought there was an active shooter.
“We dropped to the floor, called the police, and I mean we told them what exactly we thought we were dealing with — that there was an active shooter going around the neighborhood because we were just hearing shot after shot,” Morin-Leidig said.
Dunleavy said they usually hear gunshots in their neighborhood, but there was something about Friday’s shooting that scared her more than usual.
“I think it’s really scary because we’ve lived here a year and we hear shots at night, but it was 6 p.m.,” Morin-Leidig said. “It was during the day. You know, everything seemed normal up until that point. I was even going to do yard work and I’m so glad I didn’t because I would’ve been outside during the whole thing.”
Police Chief Stephen Jenkins released a statement saying he’s spoken with the young boy’s mom and extended family and that he’s “outraged over another young life taken over neighborhood disputes where juveniles turn to guns to settle differences.”
Founder of Give Back 2 Da Block, Darrell Redmond was at a youth violence prevention gala in Hampton when he got a call about the shooting.
He told 10 On Your Side that he rushed over and saw a broken community.
“I saw trauma, I saw hurt, I saw pain, I saw grief,” Redmond said. “Not just a child that was murdered, but you have a family that was murdered, a community that was murdered.”
He said the tragedy hit even closer to home considering he’s known the young boy’s family for 30 years.
“We’re talking about a kid,” Redmond said. “We’re talking about a kid who hasn’t even started to develop. We’re talking about somebody who should be playing a PlayStation is taken away from a family.”
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.