She was 25.
Jenkins was leaving a downtown Norfolk restaurant, Chicho’s Pizza Backstage, when an argument started outside the establishment, followed by gunfire.
Two more men found by police at the scene with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds were also taken to the hospital for treatment, according to police.
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.”
She had also previously worked as an editorial researcher at Atlanta Magazine.
‘Everyone loved her,’ father says
“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.”
CNN’s Samantha Beech and Kiely Westhoff contributed to this report.