The gun homicide rate in Virginia between 2020 and 2024 was equal to the national average, according to a new report from Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Research Committee.
But more than a quarter of these gun-related homicides occurred in four Hampton Roads cities: Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News and Hampton.
Gun homicide rates have decreased in most of these cities from their pandemic-era peak in 2022, except for Newport News. There, gun homicides have increased by 18% over the last three years, the report stated…