HAMPTON, Va. — Tuesday morning, the Hampton Police Division held a press conference to share details about three teenagers who were shot over the weekend.
A 14-year-old and an 18-year-old were killed, and a 16-year-old was shot but is recovering, according to Police Chief Mark Talbot. He said they now think all three were shot while in the same car together.
On Friday night, HPD got several 911 calls about gunfire.
Police officers rushed out to Nickerson Boulevard and Bridgeport Cove shortly before 11 p.m. That's where they found the 14-year-old lying in the road. Talbot said the boy had been shot and was pronounced dead before medics could get him to a hospital.
A very short time later, they got reports of a second shooting victim about a mile away on Silver Isles Boulevard. According to police, that was the 18-year-old, later identified as Sean Fontleroy from Newport News.
He also died at the scene. Another police spokesman, Capt. Jason Price, said Fontleroy was just two days shy of his 19th birthday.
Then at around the same time, the mother of a 16-year-old called 911 to say her child had been shot. That boy survived, and is doing physically well, Talbot said.
Price said their investigation leads back to the 200 block of Bridgeport Cove, where all of the victims had been in a car together earlier that night.
"Shortly after they parked their vehicle, multiple individuals approached the vehicle, fired guns," Price said.
Those gunshots hit all three teens.
Price said the victims drove the car from Bridgeport Cove to Silver Isles to get away from the shooters and try to get help.
"This is a tragic and senseless incident," he said.
Chief Talbot said they do think the suspects were working together, but they don't have enough evidence yet to say if the shooting was gang-related or not.
He said gun violence is also tragic for responding officers, who worked through the weekend to try to get justice in the case. He thanked people who had cooperated with investigators and said he thought there were more witnesses who could help solve the shootings.
He's asking those people to speak to detectives.
"We will solve these cases," Talbot said.
You can leave an anonymous tip by calling the Crime Line at 1.888.LOCK.U.UP, or you can speak to police officers directly by calling 757. 727.6111. You can also anonymously leave a tip online at P3Tips.com.