Newport News parents concerned about safety after teens killed

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – Two teenagers in Newport News have been killed in separate shootings over the course of seven days.

On Tuesday night at the city’s school board meeting, parents stepped up to the podium addressing safety concerns.

The school board meeting started with a moment of silence to honor the young lives recently lost in the city.

Last week, on Sept. 10, a 15-year-old Menchville High School student was shot and killed at a bus stop. Then yesterday, Sept. 17, a 17-year-old was shot and killed on Gloucester Avenue.

Both of these tragedies shocked the community, most of all parents of Newport News Public School students.

The crimes have opened up broader discussions about how the school district handles safety overall.

A mother of three addressed the school board during Tuesday night’s meeting. She said safety measures like clear backpacks and metal detectors have done nothing to curb violence.

“They come home daily telling me that they have no support system in their schools,” she said. “The only thing that they’ve accomplished is ingraining into our children that they are nothing but a number on an id to be searched and have personal belongings seized with no rights to privacy all because you don’t want to take care of the actual problems.”

She added that she believes the district didn’t properly communicate with parents about yesterday’s shooting.

“We had to learn what was actually happening from social media and the news before we were ever given a phone call or an email from the schools. My children have been attacked in classrooms, accosted verbally by teachers and students, and sexually assaulted in the hallways. The one common denominator was school officials telling me, was it really that big of a deal.”

The council meeting was on the same day Chief Steve Drew and Mayor Phillip Jones held a press conference about Tuesday’s fatal shooting of a 17-year-old.

Both city officials had the same message, saying this violence has to stop.

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