ROANOKE, Va. – Yellow tape and flashing red and blue lights are sights that are becoming more and more common in Roanoke.
Tuesday morning, the Roanoke community was forced to face the aftermath of yet another shooting, this time at Hunt Manor Apartments.
Police said a man was rushed to the hospital after being shot around 5:40 a.m. and no arrests have been made.
This incident comes after two separate shootings over the weekend on Williamson Road and Glenn Ridge Road.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Roanoke native Renea Taylor.
Taylor is no stranger to gun violence. Both her father, Jimmie Lee Penn Sr. and her brother, Jamie Levar Penn Sr. were shot and killed in Roanoke.
She is a co-founder of the group F.E.D. U.P. (Families Expecting Deliverance Using Prayer), a support group for families impacted by violence.
“This is a small city. So even if it’s not our family member, it’s somebody that we know,” said Taylor. “It has been very traumatic. It is something that you have to live with forever.”
The troubling trend is on the rise in Roanoke. So far in 2021, there have been 25 instances of gun violence compared to 19 this time last year.
Victoria Thomas’s 14-year-old brother was shot last year in Roanoke and lived.
“It’s scary. And I’m blessed and our family is blessed that he survived it,” said Thomas.
She said change needs to center around inner-city kids.
“A lot of the activities are too far from the inner-city kids to even get to because a lot of their parents don’t have cars,” said Thomas.
Thomas works for Nicole Ross, the CEO and president of Youth Enrichment Services of Southwest Virginia and a member of Roanoke’s Gun Violence Prevention Commission. She said there’s a disconnect in the community.
“It’s a disconnect between the community, the people, the police. We’ve got to come together as a whole and realize that we can’t continue this cycle. Something has got to stop. Someone has got to say, ‘Listen. We’re not going to retaliate. We’re just going to let this thing go.’ Because if no one does that, it’s going to continue.”
Taylor said her brother and father may be the faces of gun violence, but they were so much more: fathers, sons and a star athlete.
“It’s devastating,” said Taylor. “And I just pray that it stops.”