Ronnie Lee was driving when he got the call that his nephew had been killed in a shooting in the Prentis Park neighborhood earlier this week.
“Georgio is gone. I am still grasping it,” Lee said.
Lee’s nephew, Davonta Georgio Lee, was one of three people killed Tuesday morning in a shooting at a boarding house in the 1600 block of Maple Avenue. A fourth victim, Samuel Jones, 66, died from his injuries days later.
When Ronnie Lee’s sister told him where his nephew was shot, he said his first thought was “What is Georgio doing there?
“He was not one of the wild ones. All he ever did was work and come home,” Ronnie Lee said of 30-year-old Davonta Georgio Lee, who worked as a welder at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
One resident, who lives adjacent to the crime scene, said he was watching television and eating breakfast Tuesday morning. He did not hear anything, but soon after, someone called and told him about the shooting. Rob said he stepped onto his front porch and was immediately in the midst of a crime scene.
“The yellow tape, the forensics, all the police officers. It seemed like the whole police force was on Maple Street,” said Rob, who preferred not to give his last name.
The crime scene tape — and any other evidence that may have indicated a shooting had occurred at the property — had been removed by Thursday. A white vase of flowers sat at the base of the stairs leading up to the porch.
Rob said the violence in the community has risen to “ridiculous” levels over the past 30 years.
“This is a hell of a lot different than when I first moved here. Then it got to where you were scared that you would get robbed. Now we are scared that you will get shot just from poking your head out first thing in the morning,” Rob said.
Rob said the violence has become so prevalent that he hardly ever sits on his front porch “because it is dangerous.”
“It is like the wild west. They are just shooting to shoot, and it makes me afraid,” Rob said.
Another resident of more than 50 years said “crime is running amuck” and that the country, as a whole, is violent.
“And unfortunately, these types of instances just amplify the situation. Until we wake up and get rid of some of these guns and some of the ignorance that is running with it,” Wilburt Scott, 73, said, trailing off as he shook his head. He then added, “When is it going to end? How many more have to die?”
Portsmouth police officers gathered at the Maple Avenue home for a “RESET walk” Thursday afternoon following the homicides. Led by Chief of Police Renado Prince, officers split into groups, sending a chaplain with each, as they went door to door to speak with residents along road.
“This is for us to give advice and to take information, but more importantly it is to reinforce that the police department supports (the community),” Prince said as he addressed his officers. “We are not going any place and if they need counseling, let’s see if we can make that happen.”
Scott said that while he appreciates the police knocking on doors and engaging with the community, it is just not possible to have a police officer on every corner every second of the day. The responsibility, he added, falls on the neighborhoods.
“The neighborhood belongs to the neighborhood. The people that commit these crimes do not do it in their own neighborhood. Their own neighborhoods would not allow it. We can’t allow it,” Scott said.
According to police, witnesses have said a 2011 black GMC Acadia with Virginia tags VVF-9829 was possibly seen leaving the scene. Police have not released suspect information or a possible motive behind the shooting.
Lee said Thursday that his family is hurting, but he is trying to remain calm throughout the process.
“I want them to be caught. I want them to be prosecuted,” Lee said. “When you take a life, you take your own.”
Caitlyn Burchett, 727-267-6059, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
