PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia State Police are investigating three interstate shootings that all happened in the past week.
A Hampton Roads man witnessed one of those shootings that happened on I-264 near Victory Boulevard in Portsmouth Wednesday evening. His dashcam caught the tense moments unfolding all on video.
10 On Your Side is protecting his identity for his safety.
“It was a normal night, just going home from work and that happens in front of you, definitely scary,” said the witness.
Gunshots can be seen coming from the car driving on the far left side of I-264, hitting the car in the far right lane.
Virginia State Police confirmed they were called at the Victory Boulevard off ramp, where they found the victim, whose car had crashed into the tree line. He was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries incurred from both the shooting and the crash, according to Sgt. Michelle Anaya.
State Police said their preliminary investigation revealed the victim, the only occupant of a Mercedes Benz with temporary tags, was traveling west on I-264 when a dark-colored sedan pulled up and someone inside began to shoot. The victim lost control of his car and ran off the road.
This is the third interstate shooting reported in the region in a three-day period. Police are still looking for a suspect in a shooting on I-464 in Chesapeake on the Fourth of July.
Meanwhile, police still don’t have a description of a suspect vehicle for an interstate shooting that happened Tuesday night in Hampton.
The witness says some of the shell casings even bounced off the roadway and hit his car.
“I knew it was gunshots, I knew the sound of that, but I didn’t know what was going on and I heard things hitting my car,” said the witness. “That’s what made me stop my vehicle because I didn’t know if I was even being shot at.”
The witness says he was so disoriented when it happened that he slowed down to regroup.
He says he heard multiple shots in a matter of seconds and didn’t know they were coming from until he watched the video.
“Initially I thought the car on the right was doing the shooting, but they were the ones being shot at,” said the witness.
The witness’s video shows the car that was hit driving off the Victory Boulevard exit.
State Police say that car ended up going off the road. The driver was hurt but is expected to be okay.
The witness says he’s an attentive driver, but says he’s not sure if the people in the two cars involved knew each other.
“They were all driving very normally, everyone was driving the speed limit so I didn’t think to look at vehicles or plate numbers ahead of time because I had no reason to think something was going to happen,” said the witness.
He says he’s never felt scared to live here, but says this incident did instill fear in him knowing it was such a close call.
“It’s just scary to think that that could happen to anyone and especially that car in the middle that I am assuming is innocent, they were very close to that gunfire and could’ve been easily in the crossfire,” said the witness.
The witness tells 10 On Your Side he’s turned all of the videos over to investigators to hopefully help identify the shooter.
If you were driving in the area as well or have any information that you believe could help, you’re asked to call state police at (757)424-6800 or send them an email at questions@vsp.virginia.gov.