During the COVID pandemic gun violence in Charlottesville increased dramatically, reaching a high of 70 shootings that left 33 people dead or injured in 2022. While those numbers have decreased in recent years with the number of shootings falling to 30 in 2025, Charlottesville still sees more shootings now than before the pandemic, and gun violence is yet again increasing in 2026. Just through August of this year there have been 32 shootings leaving 20 people dead or injured. More and more, people are hearing gunshots in their neighborhoods and worry about their safety and their families’.
At the same time, militarized responses from the police like the use of armored vehicles and conducting raids while children wait for the school bus only further increase the danger that people feel. Seriously addressing these issues requires Charlottesville to take an approach to community safety that includes more than just policing. Across the country, there are many cities that have been succesful in creating real, sustained reductions in gun violence, and they have done so without relying on overly aggressive police tactics.
The communities that have been succesful are ones that understand the root causes of gun violence in our community are decades of poverty, disinvestment, and specific racist policy decisions that have left people with little resources or agency. Reducing violence means investing in the neighborhoods where it occurs.
Additionally, cities that have been succesful in violence reduction are typically those that have worked with national organizations to conduct thorough problem analyses that develop concrete, evidence-based policies and practices. At the 2026 Nehemiah Action, with 1200 people present, we asked Charlottesville Police Chief Kochis and Commonwealth’s Attorney Platania to do just that: partner with a national organization to conduct a problem analysis of the gun violence in Charlottesville.
We are continuing to work with local leaders to ensure that this analysis is completed, and to see full implementation of the evidence-based solutions that are recommended from it.
Numbers of deaths & injuries can be found at: https://projects.thetrace.org/gun-violence-map/
Number of shootings is sourced from the total number of assaults & homicides committed with a firearm shown on the FBI Crime Database: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
Report on succesful implementation of gun violence reduction in Baltimore: https://www.thetrace.org/2026/07/baltimore-violence-reduction-strategy/