ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WAVY) — After a man died and two others were injured in a shooting on Lane Street earlier this week, Elizabeth City Interim Police Chief Eddie Graham sought to address the violence in the city and called for people to come together.
“Enough is enough,” Graham said in a Wednesday press conference. “Safety is my top priority. I’m urging every citizen to stand united and take action. Violent crime must end and by working together, we can be a part of the solution. We do have a ShotSpotter that we’ve received. It’s not operable at this time. It’s in the process of being installed. We are also going to reopen the substation off of Shepard Street and Road Street. We’re going to have community police officers in that community building.”
According to officials, just after 10 p.m. Sunday, officers were sent to the 500 block of Lane Street for reports of shots fired.
When officers arrived, they found three people suffering from gunshot wounds.
Xavier Trayshawn Garland, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene. Another victim, a 21-year-old man, was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while a 19-year-old man was also taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Elizabeth City Mayor E. Kirk Rivers echoed this sentiment, saying he is working with the police department to make his city safer.
“We’re giving all the residents, police department, city manager, all the resources they need to implement these programs,” Rivers said. “We’re just trying to learn and implement, see what other communities are doing. We have to make sure our residents feel safe.”
Police also said they found multiple shell casings at the scene. They have not released suspect information, but say this is an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public at this time.
The full press conference can be seen below:
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Elizabeth City Police Department at 252-335-4321 or the Crime Line at 252-335-5555.
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