NORFOLK, Va. — If you took a look around the room at the New Hope Christian Community Center on Tuesday night, you would see a room of people still grieving from losing a loved one.
“It’s a nightmare," said Radia Capehart, who lost her 15-year-old son, Shayne, to gun violence in 2022. "It’s an absolute nightmare you cannot wake up from. It’s just constant 24/7."
Shayne was walking home from a Wawa when he was shot.
“He asked me if he was going to die," she said. "What do I say to that?"
Capehart's story is similar to a lot of parents in the Hampton Roads area. This includes Shana Turner, the founder of the Hampton Roads Mothers Against Senseless Killings, and one of the hosts of the event.
Turner lost her son, Shaquille, in 2017 in the same way.
“He was leaving work and a coworker followed him and murdered my son," Turner said.
That's why during National Crime Victims' Week, Turner invited Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares so families can find out how to find support and, in some cases, find justice.
Watch previous coverage: Newport News mother still looking for answers in 15-year-old son's murder
“If anybody could get all the cities together and try to make everybody work for the common good and common sense of gun violence, I felt like he could, because he’s the one that, for people who don’t know, makes the laws," Turner said.
Some of the resources Miyares's office is assisting with include a witness protection program (the first in Virginia), for people who are too scared to testify. They've also set up a sexual assault kit initiative, designed to solve cold cases submitted by victims. He says that's what helped link a man to the Colonial Parkway Murders.
“When they feel ignored they lose trust in the criminal justice system," Miyares said. "I want to restore that trust."
Miyares also talked about Operation Ceasefire, which was set up in 13 cities across Virginia, including five in Hampton Roads. The purpose of the initiative is to reduce violent crime in those cities through gang prevention and community policing.
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Miyares says they've seen a drop in crime in all 13.
“We’re pleased where we are we’ve got a long way to go," he said.
But as Virginia leaders look to drop the crime rate, Virginia families, like Capehart, hope that if the cops become less busy, maybe they'll have more time to find justice for her son.
“Once somebody gets murdered, it’s all hands on deck," Capehart said. "So that takes away time from our cases."
