NORFOLK — Police here are investigating a shooting that left a 7-year-old girl seriously wounded.
It happened around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Dispatchers received a call for a gunshot disturbance in the 800 block of East Princess Anne Road. When police arrived, they found the girl in the 800 block of Goff Street suffering from a serious gunshot wound.
She was taken to the Children’s Hospital for The King’s Daughters for treatment. Her injuries were later upgraded to serious, but stable, police said.
Detectives have determined the girl was shot while sitting outside a home after gunfire was heard in the distance.
There were no other injuries reported.
Authorities are asking anyone who may have information about the incident to contact the Norfolk Crime Line at 888-LOCK-U-UP or submit a tip through the P3Tips mobile app.
Before the girl was shot, hundreds of people had gathered at a middle school for a program aimed at curbing gun violence in the city.
Police started the “Guns Down” movement as shootings rose 50 percent this year compared to last year. Several children have been shot. A 15-year-old boy was killed in early June.
Police Chief Larry Boone said officers recently seized a gun from an 11-year-old. The child didn’t have the hand strength to effectively fire it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
