ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WAVY) — Elizabeth City is looking to counter a growing trend of teens getting shot after the latest shooting injured three Wednesday afternoon.
According to Elizabeth City Mayor Kirk Rivers, seven young people, including the trio of teens, have been shot in three different incidents this year. It is also the second one on Speed Street this year, with the other taking place in April.
Fortunately, no one has died.
At 3:47 p.m. Wednesday, officers responded to calls about shots fired and an injured person in the 300 block of Speed Street.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found three teenagers suffering from gunshot wounds. Two of the victims were 16 years old and one was 17 years old. All three of the victims were taken to Sentara Albemarle Medical Center to be treated for their injuries.
One of the victims was later transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for serious injuries. The other two victims are listed in stable condition.
This comes a few days after another shooting in the city on Herrington Road Saturday.
And besides the other Speed Street shooting in April, in March, two teenage girls were injured after being shot in the area of South Road Street and Shepard Street. A few weeks before that, in February, four teens were hospitalized after a shooting at the Walker Landing Apartments.
Police have not released any more information about the latest shooting, but the mayor said there will be a news conference Friday morning to discuss initiatives the city is taking to combat the problem of kids with guns, and kids getting shot. It is the fifth such news conference officials have held this year in connection to young people being shot in the city.
“Access and ease of getting guns, young people, juveniles, getting access to guns whereas yesterday we would go out and be mad at each other, maybe there would be a fight,” Rivers told 10 On Your Side in a one-on-one interview. “Now, they are actually shooting at one another, and that is what we have to change in our society.”
10 On Your Side went knocking to get reaction to the latest shooting on Speed Street.
Names are not important, but their words are.
What does this Speed Street neighbor think about Wednesday’s shooting?
“It is sad. I was not here. They are going crazy on this street,” the neighbor said. “This street here is going crazy. I have nothing else to say. Police need to do their job; the street is crazy.”
Then we found a woman in the back seat of a car.
“What do I want to say about the crime? Stop all the violence,” the woman said. “We do not need our Black people to be dying like this. Stop all the violence. I’m very concerned because I have kids of my own.”
And what does the mayor think?
“We are not going to sweep it under the rug and say we don’t have a problem,” Rivers said. “Anytime you have a shooting with juveniles in Elizabeth City, we have a problem.”
Rivers said the news conference Friday is about the past, present and future.
“We will talk about the programs we are going to roll out,” Rivers said, “and what has happened in the last 30, 45 days, and what will take place in the future.”
Parents, listen up. The mayor said the news conference will also be about you.
The mayor says they are going to put parents on notice – that your children are your responsibility,
“That is what we are getting ready to do,” Rivers said. “That’s what we are going to be announcing tomorrow.”
Police will be announcing new programs and the status of current ones.
“The police have come up with a program where we will make resources available,” Rivers said, “and I think the public will see the rest of what we have put together.”
Elizabeth City is also concerned about legislation, and is changing its lobbyist.
“We are even changing our lobbyist,” Rivers said. “If a person shoots a gun in the Elizabeth City area right now, they only get a $100 fine, and on this Fourth of July, we had an incident where people firing guns in the air caus(ed) people to run.”
The news conference will lay out a need to respect your neighbors.
Rivers stressed that Elizabeth City would not tolerate gun violence, and plans to hold parents accountable while finding a way to curb access to guns.
“These young kids are shooting guns and that’s what we have to change,” the mayor told 10 On Your Side, “and that makes older people in the community scared, and that is not what we are going to have in Elizabeth City.”
Anyone with information about the shootings is urged to contact the Elizabeth City Police Department at 252-335-4321 or the Crime Line at 252-335-5555.
