HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A surge in violence in Henrico County has led to four homicide investigations already in 2024, 12 days into the new year.
Many shooting investigations are underway as well, and county residents are wondering why the spike in violence.
Just after 3 p.m. Friday, there was a shooting on the 1700 block of Watts Lane in Henrico.
"As I'm coming to the last turn, the last right turn I can take, an officer speeds by and blocks off the road. And of course, you see ambulances, fire trucks, police officers, all down the street and it's scary," nearby resident Katelyn Burton said.
Police say a man was shot in his front yard, not too far from a church parking lot. Police believe the victim and the shooters knew each other.
The victim was taken to VCU Medical Center with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to his legs.
"It's not, it's not an easy thing to do to have to explain to your child what happened down the street," Burton said.
Burton, a longtime Henrico resident, says questions about the violence are already being asked by her kids.
She says violence is stealing the innocence of children who live in the area.
More alarmingly, Burton says it seems like shootings are happening all over the county.
"It's very concerning and gotten a lot worse in the past few years," Burton said. "I've lived here my entire life and I noticed it's gotten worse and it's going further west."
If you have any information that can help police in their homicide or shooting investigations, you can report a tip anonymously to 804-780-1000.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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