Gunfire tore into a home in the 1200 block of Picadilly Street in Norfolk early Thursday morning, damaging both the inside and outside of the house while residents were home at the time. No one was hurt, but the shooting has left neighbors shaken and police searching for answers.
Officers were called to the block around 9:10 a.m. after residents reported that the home had been hit by gunfire, according to 13News Now. Police confirmed the shooting damaged both the interior and exterior of the home, though the people inside at the time avoided injury. Detectives have not released a suspect description or a motive for the shooting.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call the Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, per the same report.
A Street With a Recent History of Gunfire
A Street With a Recent History of Gunfire Thursday's shooting is not the first time gunfire has struck Picadilly Street. In a separate incident on July 9, 2025, a car was damaged in a gunshot disturbance in the 1300 block of the same street around 7:20 p.m., with no injuries reported, according to WAVY. The station's earlier coverage also detailed a fatal shooting on Picadilly Street, in which a man was shot near the intersection of Picadilly and Wellington streets around 11:20 p.m. and later died at a hospital. That victim was identified as 22-year-old Anthony J. Castro of Norfolk, the outlet reported.
Gunfire has also struck other Norfolk homes with people inside in recent incidents documented by the same station. In one case, multiple rounds hit a home in the 3100 block of Argonne Avenue while an 18-year-old was watching four younger children inside; miraculously, no one was hurt, and police received that call around 1:30 a.m. Monday. About two hours earlier, multiple shots were fired into a home in the 3400 block of Lens Avenue around 11:15 p.m. Sunday. The Argonne Avenue and Lens Avenue incidents were investigated separately.
Homicides and Shootings Climbing in Norfolk
Thursday's shooting lands amid a sharp rise in homicides across Norfolk this year. Through Aug. 25, the city had recorded 28 homicides, up 65% from 17 at the same point in 2025, Police Chief Mark Talbot said, as reported by The Virginian-Pilot. Twenty-three of those 28 homicides involved shootings.
Not every metric is trending upward, however. Nonfatal shootings during the first six months of 2026 actually dipped slightly, with 16 reported compared to 17 over the same stretch in 2025, and overall violent crime fell 3%, from 532 to 517 reported crimes, according to the same analysis. Police had made an arrest in 13 of the city's 28 homicides, or about 46%, as of late August.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about Thursday's shooting on Picadilly Street to come forward as the investigation proceeds.
