PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Around 7 p.m. Monday, families in the Long Point area said they clearly heard several gunshots ring out.
What happened next is a blur for some residents.
"Gunshots happened behind that house and they were running between the house and the fairway," said Portsmouth resident Carla Debrough.
Debrough's neighbor, Edward Drue, also heard the gunshots. He said his girlfriend was gardening in their backyard and ran into the house, calling for him, saying a teenage boy was on the ground behind their fence.
"It was quite frightening actually," said Drue as he described finding the teenager with multiple gunshot wounds to different parts of his body.
It happened by chance that the boy fell into Drue's backyard, who happens to be a long-time nurse.
Drue said when he saw the boy, he and his girlfriend quickly tried calling 911, but he said they kept getting stuck on the busy line. So, he ran down the street where an officer was sitting in her car.
"There was a police officer on the corner down there," Drue said as he gestured down the street. "I flagged her down, we came back here, and I administered first aid to him so he wouldn't bleed out."
The 30-year veteran nurse said despite all of his experience working on traumatic situations like this, he said he'll never get over treating a young person from gun violence.
"Especially a youngster like him," Drue huffed as he recalled the moments. "It was surreal actually. You never expect anything like that to happen in your backyard."
However, with the odds of the teen ending up at his home, Drue said he did not want to waste that one chance to try to save his life.
"You don't see much of that in life unless you work in the emergency room, but you just do what you know how to do," Drue explained. "You render aid to somebody that's hurt, you know. That's...that's what I know how to do."
A spokeswoman for Portsmouth police said the teen is still at the hospital and is considered to be in serious condition.
Neighbors like Debrough said this type of situation where a young person got shot is nothing short of devastating.
"It broke my heart. It broke my heart because I felt like that could have been one of my children," said Debrough. "We got to stop it. It has to stop. Gun control needs to be put in place. People who have guns need to make sure they are locked up. We've got to do something as a community. We have to. Where does the crime stop?"
Portsmouth p[olice did not say if they had a suspect as of Tuesday, but they are actively investigating the shooting.
If you know anything about the shooting, you are asked to call the crime line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.