‘Victim of senseless gun violence’: 10-year-old shot and killed in Petersburg apartment

Police are calling it a senseless act of gun violence after ten-year-old K’Von Morgan was killed in his bedroom Saturday morning.
Published: Jun. 19, 2023 at 6:40 PM EDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

PETERSBURG, Va. (WWBT) -Police call it a senseless act of gun violence after ten-year-old K’Von Morgan was killed in his bedroom Saturday morning.

He was shot inside the apartment where he lived with his family and died on his way to the hospital.

“It makes no sense that a child had to lose his life by being inside his bedroom, doing what he was doing, and preparing to go to bed for the night. It’s ridiculous,” Petersburg Police Chief Travis Christian said.

Christian says Morgan was shot by someone outside the Pecan Acres apartment building on Juniper Road—the chief says the complex as a family neighborhood where kids should be able to play.

Detectives are now gathering security footage, canvassing the area and talking to neighbors to find any information.

“We’re looking for those individuals, not only those who did it, but we’re really looking for the individuals who know what happened,” Christian said.

Police say Morgan was not a part of the incident going on outside of his home in any way.

Christian says preventing innocent people like Morgan is an effort that needs help from all over. He says he’s aware some people know exactly what happened.

“It’s unfortunate that people choose to recklessly discharge firearms in any community, and it just so happens at this point it hit our community. This is not the first time it has happened in our community,” Christian said.

Police are asking anyone with any sort of information about the case to send it to the Petersburg Police investigations division or call Crime Solvers anonymously at 80-861-1212.

“There’s a lot of silent lips. A lot of people that will talk about the wrong things. A lot of people that will say things that have no bearing as to the crime itself. That allows a killer or killers to go free,” Christian said.

Police will now increase presence in the Pecan Acres neighborhood and across Petersburg to prevent any more tragedies.

“We really need our community to come forward and understand we’re losing children,” Christian said.

NBC12 reached out to the family of K’Von Morgan, and they tell us at this time, they are not ready for any interviews. Police say they’ve also been in contact with the family and are just trying to support them now.