NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — When editors at the local newspaper assigned reporter Sierra Jenkins to cover a mass shooting, they had no way of knowing the 25-year-old was one of the tragedy’s casualties.
Since the crime occurred early Saturday morning, Sierra Jenkins’ father Maurice has visited the crime scene in the 300 block of Granby Street multiple times.
“I’ve been out here every day since it happened. This is the last place that my daughter was alive and well,” said Maurice Jenkins, who is part of the large Jenkins family, which has deep roots in the Campostella section of Norfolk.
A makeshift memorial now covers the entrance to Chicho’s Backstage on Granby Street.
“People have been down here writing messages and leaving flowers. It doesn’t take away how bad you are hurting but just to see the love and support you are getting, it helps while you are fighting through the pain,” said Maurice Jenkins.
Sierra Jenkins’ mother, Moniquekia Thompson, wants the world to remember her daughter by one word: excellent.
“She didn’t want to put on anything that wasn’t positive or wasn’t positive or wasn’t going to better the overall community. And if it wasn’t, she didn’t want to be part of it. She was excellent,” said Thompson.
Police in Norfolk have not shared much information about who opened fire in downtown Norfolk, taking two lives, injuring three others, and leaving a community in fear.
On Monday night, Police Chief Larry Boone said during a virtual meeting that a spilled drink led to the argument that ended in five people being shot at a bar.
Sesil Jenkins, who considers himself the patriarch of the family, met with WAVY-TV Reporter Regina Mobley on Granby Street some 30 years ago.
The Las Vegas-based entertainer, who is Sierra Jenkins’ third cousin, turned to social media this weekend to call on the public to identify the killer and turn him in.
Sesil Jenkins was in tears at times when he told 10 On Your Side how his entire family is devastated that in his hometown, the town he loves, the person who killed his third cousin is on the run.
Jenkins has this message for Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander:
“Kenneth if you are watching this I want you to listen to me brother. I know you have a job to do and I’m not telling you how to do it but I am telling you the lives of the people of Hampton Roads, especially Norfolk Virginia where you serve, are in danger. You must take them [the suspect or suspects] off the street,” said Jenkins in a Zoom interview from Las Vegas.
But the Jenkinses have a clue about another woman who could have been another victim of gunfire. Sierra Jenkins’ father explained an incident police did not share with the media or the public involving a young woman who was also Sierrra’s friend.
“That is the person who was with my daughter, she had a bullet that went through her purse and was stopped by her cell phone. We don’t know if that cell phone was the reason why she wasn’t hit by that bullet,” Maurice Jenkins said.
10 On Your Side is attempting to reach out to Sierra Jenkins’ friend who survived the hail of gunfire.
The funeral service for Sierra Jenkins is set for April 2, 2022, at 11 a.m. at Metropolitan Funeral Home on Granby Street in Norfolk.