Police: Child shot in Portsmouth, suspects sought

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Yet another young life has been impacted by gun violence.

Portsmouth Police are looking for two suspects after a shooting on High Street around 5 p.m. Tuesday that sent a boy to the hospital.

It happened Tuesday just before 5 p.m. at the London Oaks Apartments, near the 2600 block of High Street. Pictures from the scene showed a large police presence in the area.

“We received a call that there was a juvenile who was shot, the juvenile was transported to a local hospital,” said Portsmouth Police Department public information officer Elexcia Washington.

It’s shootings like these that are hitting close to home for Kendra Robinson, a Portsmouth native and founder of the Community Outreach Coalition. Just a few blocks away from the shooting scene, her organization had a meeting Tuesday night about the importance of empowering the youth.

“We really want to stop the violence so that we can show the youth that there are other things out there that they can do to empower each other and empower the people around them,” Community Outreach Coalition Founder Kendra Robinson said.

The organization is celebrating 16 years of doing work across Hampton Roads, but shootings like this one remind them that there is still more to be done.

“There’s definitely a positive future for them if they could just stop the violence and overcome some barriers that they may have,” Robinson said.

Everyone, she said, must play a part in taking back the community.

“If anyone has any information, we ask that you would contact 911 or call your local police department, call us,” Washington said.

Police say they’re looking for two suspects in the case, two black males about 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-11 inches tall about 130 to150 pounds. One was in a red hoodie and the other was in a black hoodie with Bart Simpson on the front.

Both suspects are considered armed and dangerous, and anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call the Portsmouth Police Investigations Bureau at 757–393–8536 or the Crime Line at 1–888-LOCK-U-UP.

The investigation into the shooting continues. To learn more about ways to get involved with the Community Outreach Coalition, click here.

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