PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Virginia State Police are investigating a car crash that happened as the result of a shooting in Portsmouth on Wednesday night.
According to a news release, police responded to the scene of the car crash at 11:33 p.m. on I-264 at Victory Boulevard.
Fred Riley has a business on Victory Boulevard and he is concerned about the rise in these types of shootings.
“Yeah, I'm very disturbed. I have lived in Hampton when we're currently having a shooting on 64 and they haven't found the shooter, and now I heard this morning there was a shooting last night on Victory Boulevard. That really disturbs me," said Riley.
An investigation revealed that the crash had been caused by a shooting. The victim was a man whose name hasn't been released yet.
He was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, and he's expected to be okay.
He was driving westbound in a Mercedes-Benz with temporary tags when a dark-colored sedan pulled up and began to shoot at him, which caused him to lose control of his car and drive off the road into the trees nearby.
This is an ongoing investigation. Virginia State Police Sergeant Michelle Anaya said investigators need the communities help to identify the shooters.
“Maybe a commuter saw these vehicles prior to the incident, can you give us a make and model, maybe number of people or they saw some type of road rage incident that initiated it," said Anaya.
If you were driving in this area around this time and may have witnessed something, contact Virginia State Police at 757-424-6800 or email at questions@vsp.virginia.gov
13News Now sent Virginia State Police a FOIA request asking how many shootings troopers responded to this year. Below is their response:
"Per your FOIA request, the Virginia State Police have responded to 20 interstate shootings in our Chesapeake Division from January 1, 2022 through July 7, 2022. None of the shootings have been fatal."
“There’s a lot of aggressiveness we are seeing on the interstate. Not just with the shootings, with speeds. Our troopers are seeing more frequently pulling people over for speeds way up in the hundreds."