Suffolk sees first homicide of 2013

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A 31-year-old man has died in Suffolk’s first homicide of 2013.

Diana Klink with the City of Suffolk said officers responded to call of shots fired in the 400 block of Linden Avenue just after 3 a.m. on New Year's Day at a “social gathering.”

When officers arrived on scene, they could not find the victim. It was later learned the victim was transported from the scene toward a local hospital, Klink said.

The victim, Carlton Holland, was found in the 300 block of Wellons Street being turned over to Suffolk EMS crews.

Holland was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper chest, according to Klink. He was pronounced dead at the hospital just before 4 a.m.

"He went to my church, [it's] kind of devastating," said Alphonso Lewis, who heard the gunshots.

WAVY.com spoke with Holland's father, who said the family is devastated and is hoping to shooter is caught.

"CJ was an outgoing person, he loved music, he did poetry... [he was] just an everyday person," Carlton Holland, Sr. said. "You know, he was a good child, did his grades, was just a good kid. He didn't deserve this."

According to online court records, Holland was a registered sex offender residing in Suffolk.

Anyone with information should call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.