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‘It’s not a bad neighborhood,’ woman says after Petersburg high school student shot

Posted at 11:57 AM, Apr 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-08 19:46:50-04

PETERSBURG, Va. -- Police say a Petersburg high school student is in the hospital after being shot Friday morning.

Officers were dispatched at 6:51 a.m. to the 1200 block of Grant Avenue, which is not far from A.P. Hill Elementary School.

Officials said officers found an 18-year-old victim suffering from gunshot wound to his leg.

He was taken to VCU Medical Center where he underwent surgery.

Neighbors told WTVR CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil they heard several pops around 6:45 a.m.

"I tell ya, it just don't make no sense,” Mary Watts, who lives on Grant Avenue, said. “What's going on now."

Those who have lived in the area said that the neighborhood has been changing for years.

"You just pray that when you come out of your door, bullets aren't flying here or there,” said Joan Spratley. “This neighborhood is going through some changes, but it's not a bad neighborhood."

Petersburg Police spokeswoman Esther Hyatt said detectives have been canvassing neighborhoods to piece together what happened.

"There are so many stories floating around that we have to discern whats real, whats fiction, what's fact," Hyatt said.

If you have information that could help police, call Petersburg Dinwiddie Crime Solvers anonymously at 804-861-1212, text the keyword pdcash followed by the tip and send to 274637.

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