VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Residents of the Level Green neighborhood expressed their concerns about their community to city Councilmember Sabrina Wooten and Police Chief Paul Neudigate during a Wednesday meeting.
The main topic was safety.
Residents want increased police patrols, activities to keep their kids busy and more.
It was a timely discussion, as there were two shootings involving teens in the area in the past two months.
Neudigate said while those two shootings were unrelated, he certainly understands the worry.
“We need to help the community understand that there’s not an ongoing risk right now,” Neudigate said, “but there’s more that we need to do as a partnership to make sure that we’re getting there before we lose a life.”
Shana Turner, a concerned resident at the meeting, welcomed the idea of a partnership.
“I feel like we need to come together as a community,” Turner said. “There is a true saying if you see something say something. We also need to listen to our youth, pour back into them and find out why they’re getting into these altercations, and better yet, conflict resolution.”
She told 10 On Your Side that tackling the crime issue is so important, not just because she has grandchildren, but because she lost her son to gun violence.
“He was killed on Dec. 12, 2017, to senseless gun violence,” Turner said. “We want to leave work and come home, but he wasn’t able to do that.”
Neudigate said many kids who get their hands on firearms are getting them by breaking into cars.
But 10 On Your Side’s Raven Payne asked Neudigate what happens if the teens are taking guns from their parents.
“If we have to hold parents accountable for their negligence and recklessness that ends up in a criminal act and the elements are there,” Neudigate said, “we’re going to charge them.”
He added that they’ll work to address the concerns of the residents while also continuing to monitor social media for online beefs that could turn deadly.
He also wants to remind parents to check their children’s belongings for guns.