PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth Police covered a lot of ground Tuesday afternoon.
The department held three RESET (Rapid Engagement of Support in the Event of Trauma) walks following the discovery of three bodies in a home and two shootings just in the last few days.
Officers went door to door in the community looking for answers.
Police are hoping to bring closure to these cases and the community
Dozens of officers tried to piece together multiple investigations that are yielding a lot of questions.
People living on Bart St. offered whatever help they could to figure out what led up to the discovery of one man and two women inside a home on Monday morning.
A woman we spoke to off camera said she last saw her neighbor before a recent trip out of town, about three weeks ago.
Cleaning crews entered the home wearing suits after police left.
“Yeah, you’d see him sitting out there on the side there all the time, having a cigarette, all the time,” she said.
Police went to Park Manor Road where a 24-year old man was shot Monday morning and later died. They also went back to the London Oaks apartment complex where four people were shot on Saturday. One man also died in that shooting.
Interim Police Chief Angela Greene said there were 19 homicides in all of 2018, but just halfway into 2019, that number is already at 15.
She said one of the latest victims might’ve been able to get help sooner.
“One of the issues that we heard today on the recent walk was over in the Park Manor neighborhood was that usually they hear gunfire about because they were accustomed to it, they don’t call,” she said.
Officers chatted with residents hoping to move the cases forward.
Greene said the walks allow the department to connect with the community. Officers treated kids at the complex to ice cream. Greene hopes people will see they just want to help.
“We are just asking people to contact us when things seem a little off, so we can come out there and stop problems before they become big problems,” she said.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or can also leave a tip on the P3 mobile app. You can remain anonymous.