A man was shot Tuesday night in the 1100 block of Mt. Vernon Avenue in Portsmouth, sending him to a local hospital for treatment while police continue to investigate with few details released so far. Officers responded to the call around 9:10 p.m. and found an adult male with a gunshot wound.
According to dailypress.com, officers responded to a shooting at approximately 9:10 p.m. in the 1100 block of Mt. Vernon Avenue, where they found the man with a gunshot wound. Medics transported him to a local hospital for treatment, the outlet reported. As of Tuesday night, the shooting remained under investigation and police had not released additional information.
As first reported by 13News Now, Portsmouth Police described the investigation as ongoing and provided no additional details about what led up to the shooting or who might be responsible. The station's report noted that officers found the man with the gunshot wound in that same stretch of Mt. Vernon Avenue before he was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Shooting Happened Near London Oaks Apartments
WAVY-TV reported that the shooting took place on Mount Vernon Avenue near the London Oaks Apartments, citing Portsmouth Police. The station added that there was no immediate word on the circumstances surrounding the shooting, leaving open questions about what sparked the gunfire or whether anyone has been identified as a suspect.
Mt. Vernon Avenue's History Of Violence
Tuesday's shooting is not the first time gunfire has struck this stretch of road. In February 2022, Portsmouth Police investigated a fatal shooting in the 600 block of Mount Vernon Avenue, when officers responding to a call around 2:13 a.m. found a man later identified as 35-year-old Lawrence Cowfer with a fatal gunshot wound, according to WAVY-TV. In a separate incident, a girl was taken to a hospital after being shot early one Monday morning, with officers responding to the 100 block of Mt. Vernon Avenue at around 3:55 a.m. and finding her wounded, per WTKR. There is no evidence tying either of those earlier cases to Tuesday's shooting.
City Points To Falling Crime Numbers
The latest shooting comes even as Portsmouth officials have touted broader improvements in public safety. Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins said the city saw more than a 17% reduction in crime during the second quarter of 2025 compared with the same period the year before, with robberies dropping 50% over that stretch, according to WAVY-TV's earlier reporting. Aggravated assault was the only violent-crime category that increased during that period, and the department's SAVE Unit has said it follows up on every lead stemming from a gun crime, the station reported.
Even so, gun violence has not disappeared from the city's ledger. Portsmouth recorded about 39 people shot year to date as of that 2025 reporting period, compared with 37 during the same stretch in 2024, per WAVY-TV. A statewide report cited by WHRO found that Virginia's gun homicide rate between 2020 and 2024 matched the national average, and that more than a quarter of the state's gun-related homicides occurred in four Hampton Roads cities, including Portsmouth. The same report noted gun homicide rates have fallen in most of those cities from their pandemic-era peak in 2022, with Newport News cited as an exception.
For now, Portsmouth Police have not said whether a suspect has been identified or what led to Tuesday night's shooting near London Oaks Apartments. Anyone with information has not been given a specific tip line in the department's initial statements, and officials say the case remains an active investigation.
