ROANOKE, Va. – On the heels of weekend gun violence in Star City, Roanoke City Council got a status report on October gun violence.
Chief Sam Roman said 31 firearms were seized in October – 316 year-to-date.
More than 200 felony warrants were issued and there were more than 400 misdemeanor warrants issued.
A handful of shootings resulted in two arrests – two cases have no arrests made.
Three men were either charged or convicted for their gun violence crimes in the month as well.
City Council also got an update on efforts to curb crime in the Star City.
The “Groceries not Guns” team said 99 suicides involved a gun in Roanoke from 2011 to 2020 whereas 76 people died by homicide.
And the notion that gun violence only affects certain communities was refuted as well when you include suicides, they added.
“Many, many, many of our gun suicide victims are white. The perception that whiter households are not suffering from gun deaths is incorrect,” said Dr. Catherine Kobel-Stromberg.
Attorney General Jason Miyares was in Roanoke a few weeks ago and expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the “Groceries Not Guns” program.
Roanoke’s Vice Mayor expressed that she disagreed with the idea Monday and said while the program might not work elsewhere, it’s working here.
Watch the exchange below around the 57:30 mark.