Shooting breaks out at Virginia high school graduation, killing 2, injuring 5
A shooting outside a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, Tuesday evening left two dead and five injured.
A gunman fired into a crowd of hundreds of people gathered on Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus following a graduation ceremony for Huguenot High School before fleeing the scene, according to reports.
Who was the gunman in the Richmond shooting?
The police detained two suspects but found that one was not involved in the shooting, CNN reported. The other suspect was a 19-year-old man who was in possession of four handguns when police captured him after the shooting.
Police believe the suspect knew one of the victims.
“When you have a crowd like this, innocent people are going to be caught up in the mayhem, and that’s what happened today,” Richmond Interim Police Chief Rick Edwards said in a press conference Tuesday, per Reuters. “Obviously, this should have been a safe space. ... It’s just incredibly tragic that someone decided to bring a gun to this incident and rain terror on our community.”
The suspect will likely face two counts of second-degree murder, Edward stated.
Who were the victims in the Richmond shooting?
Tameeka Jackson-Smith told NBC News that her 18-year-old son Shawn Jackson, who had just graduated high school, and her husband Renzo Smith, 36, were both killed in the shooting.
Four men ranging in age from 31 to 58 and a 14-year-old boy were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Four had non-life-threatening injuries while one, a 31-year-old man, was being treated for life-threatening injuries as of early Wednesday.
A 9-year-old girl was struck by a car in the aftermath of the shooting and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to CNN.
