Sierra Jenkins, a reporter for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper and a former CNN news assistant, was one of the people shot and killed in an early Saturday morning shooting in Norfolk, Virginia, police said. Another person was murdered and three others were injured.
She was 25 years old at the time.
Jenkins was exiting Chicho’s Pizza Backstage in downtown Norfolk when a dispute broke out outside the place, followed by shooting.
Around 2 a.m., officers arrived on the scene and discovered Jenkins and two other males with life-threatening gunshot wounds. One of the men, Devon M. Harris, 25, was pronounced dead at the site, while the other was taken to the hospital, according to authorities.
Jenkins was also taken to the hospital, where she died later, according to authorities.
According to authorities, two more individuals were found at the scene with non-life threatening gunshot wounds and were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Jenkins was “a bright and talented woman with so much promise,” said Virginian-Pilot editor-in-chief Kris Worrell. “Her passion for journalism was undeniable and our community is better because of her reporting. She brought both energy and empathy to her work as an education reporter.”
“To have the life of such a talented young person cut short is devastating,” Worrell added. “Our thoughts are with Sierra’s family and all those who knew and loved her. We are absolutely heartbroken.”
After hearing about the shooting, a newspaper editor attempted to contact Jenkins, who was on a breaking news shift Saturday morning, but couldn’t reach her, Worrell told CNN.
“When he didn’t hear back, we called in another reporter,” Worrell said. “In reporting the story of the shooting, we discovered that Sierra was one of the victims.”
Sierra Jenkins Career
Jenkins was also a CNN editorial research intern for three months in summer 2020 and a CNN Health news assistant from September to December 2020. Shortly after, she started working as a breaking news reporter for the Virginian-Pilot. Jenkins had been covering school rules and challenges around the region recently, according to the newspaper’s Facebook page.
She had previously worked at Atlanta Magazine as an editorial researcher.
Sierra Jenkins Father Mourns Her Death
Speaking to the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, Jenkins’ father, Maurice Jenkins, described his daughter as a hard-working young woman who loved being a journalist.
“She wasn’t much of a going-out kind of person at all,” Maurice Jenkins said. He said her childhood best friend was in town and the two decided to go out together.
“Everyone loved her,” he said. “She was such an energetic, caring and giving person. A real go-getter. She’d do anything for anyone.”
Both Virginia’s governor and Norfolk’s commonwealth’s attorney expressed their condolences to the families of the victims on Saturday.
“Locally, we will do our utmost to seek justice and accountability with the laws we have, but the solutions to gun violence start with good personal choices and sensible reforms to our national and state laws to keep guns out of the hands of bad actors. We must come together,” Ramin Fatehi, Norfolk commonwealth’s attorney said on Twitter.
Authorities say they’re continuing to investigate the shooting and are asking the public to come forward with any information.
