Two teenagers murdered, threats at school, focus of NN school board meeting

NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia – The Newport News School Board held its final meeting Tuesday night after two teenagers were murdered within a week.

On Wednesday morning, a 17-year-old was shot and killed on Gloucester Drive.
Last Tuesday, a 15-year-old was shot at a bus stop on 16th Street.

Watch: 17-year-old boy killed in shooting in Newport News Tuesday morning

17-year-old boy killed in shooting in Newport News on Tuesday morning

“It's kind of scary to send your kid out. We're still going to the bus stop because of everything that's going on,” said Blue, a mother from Newport News who wanted to give only her first name.

At its meeting on Tuesday evening, the school board paid its respects to the killed teenagers with a minute's silence.

News 3's Leondra Head spoke with Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones, who said he is taking other measures.

“The safety of these students is our top priority. That's why I'll be taking the kids to school tomorrow. Many men will be leaving the school route. We need men in the community to make sure our children get to school safely. Too many young black men have lost their lives to gun violence,” Jones said.

Watch: 15-year-old boy who attended Menchville High killed in shooting in Newport News on Tuesday

15-year-old boy who attended Menchville High killed in shooting in Newport News on Tuesday

A spokesman for the Newport News School District said a threatening post was circulating on social media threatening the safety of students.

News 3's Leondra Head spoke with Dr. James Graves, a Newport News teacher and president of the Newport News Teacher's Association.

“These threats seem to be coming from people who think this is a joke, but this is not a joke,” Graves said.

He says the threatening social media post contained the following statement:

“It said something like, 'See you later, I'm going to raid some schools.' They named specific schools,” Graves said.

Watch: Newport News Public Schools celebrate groundbreaking for new Huntington Middle School

Newport News Public Schools celebrate groundbreaking for new Huntington Middle School

“Was that a student that posted that?” News 3's Leondra Head asked Graves. “I don't know if it was a student. Whoever posted that knows,” Graves said.

Chief Steve Drew says his department takes social media threats seriously.

“Some people might find this funny. We don't take this as a joke. There will be some lawsuits because of these things that happen,” Drew said.

The police still have a lot of work to do. We still don't know who is responsible for the murder of two teenagers in Newport News.