Roanoke residents scared, worried by deadly triple shooting

'They just don't seem to care about a person's life.'

ROANOKE, Va. – Lisa Rhett woke up in her quiet Northwest Roanoke neighborhood Wednesday morning, shaken up by a violent night.

A Roanoke city police spokesperson said officers were patrolling the area around 2 a.m. when they heard gunshots.

Officers spotted a car driving east along Orange Avenue near 11th Street. The car pulled over on the 800 block of Orange Avenue, and when police went over to the car, they found three gunshot victims inside.

One woman died at the scene. Two men were rushed to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where one of the men later died.

"It's just, you don't know, if you're going out from home, if you're going to get back or not," Rhett said. "It's a big concern."

About a month ago, there was another shooting just steps from Rhett's house.

"That's hitting pretty close to home," Rhett said.

Several blocks away on 17th Street, Davion Staples woke up and saw police cars and caution tape outside his window.

"I'm not sure what happened, but when I woke up, I looked outside and the police car was blocking the road so nobody could get up," Staples said.

Investigators say they found bullet casings near the intersection of 17th Street and Moorman Avenue. However, police don't know if the casings are connected to the shooting victims.

Staples said he's still worried.

"I live and my grandma live in this house, and something could have happened to her," Staples said. "It's just crazy."

Rhett fears for her neighbors, her husband and her 5-year-old granddaughter.

"I don't know what's happened to people anymore," Rhett said. "They just don't seem to care about a person's life."


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