Virginian Pilot, January 2022
More than 200 people lost their lives to homicides in Hampton Roads last year, as the region experienced a spike in killings similar to those in other major U.S. cities. Hampton Roads’ seven largest cities recorded a total of 207 slayings in 2021, the highest in recent memory and a 20% increase over the year before, according to data provided by local police departments and tallied by the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot.
That’s on top of an 18% spike in 2020—meaning killings rose 42% in two years since the seven cities lost 146 people to homicides in 2019. Several people were killed in domestic disputes between couples in 2021. Others were slain during arguments between acquaintances—such as two Hampton men, one armed with a sword, who stabbed each other to death during a May street fight. Three women were shot to death Nov. 3 at Norfolk’s Young Terrace after they tried to help a young woman who was allegedly shot by her baby’s father. A 10-month-old in Newport News was stabbed to death in May, and his mother charged with murder.
The overwhelming number of killings in Hampton Roads were by handgun.
