VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Raw with emotions and eager for solutions, community leaders, business owners and others gathered a year ago at the Oceanfront. It was the day after two people died and eight others were wounded in a spate of shootings that created pandemonium in the resort area.
“What happened last night does not define who we are,” community activist Jaketa Thompson, who helped organize the impromptu event, told the crowd. “If we could all come together and start the conversations together as one community we could really make a difference.”
In the year since that chaotic night, some measures have been taken to make the beach safer, including more police surveillance cameras and better lighting at the Oceanfront. But the work to prevent violence from erupting again remains an ongoing challenge for the city.
