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High school student and father killed in Virginia graduation shooting High school student and relative killed in Virginia graduation shooting
(about 3 hours later)
Virginia representative calls for more gun safety policies after suspect was arrested for killing two people and wounding fiveVirginia representative calls for more gun safety policies after suspect was arrested for killing two people and wounding five
A high school student and his father were killed on Tuesday evening at a mass shooting at the young man’s graduation event in Richmond, Virginia, where five other people were shot, according to reports on Wednesday. A high school student and a relative were killed on Tuesday evening at a mass shooting at the young man’s graduation event in Richmond, Virginia, where five other people were shot and wounded.
Gunfire rang out outside a downtown theater, where the graduation ceremony had just ended, causing hundreds of attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses said.Gunfire rang out outside a downtown theater, where the graduation ceremony had just ended, causing hundreds of attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses said.
A 19-year-old suspect tried to escape on foot but was arrested and will be charged with two counts of second-degree murder, Richmond’s interim police chief, Rick Edwards, said during a nighttime news conference at which he confirmed the two fatalities but without confirming their relationship or identities. A 19-year-old suspect tried to escape on foot but was arrested.
On Wednesday, a number of media outlets named the two killed as Shawn Jackson, 18, and his father Renzo Smith, 36. On Wednesday, the two killed were named as Shawn Jackson, 18, and his father Lorenzo Smith, 36.
The suspect was named as Amari Pollard and was arraigned on Wednesday morning on two counts of second-degree murder, Colette McEachin, Richmond’s top prosecutor, said.
The Richmond interim police chief, Rick Edwards, said Pollard knew Jackson. He said the two had been embroiled in a dispute for more than a year, although the nature of the dispute was still being investigated.
Jackson had just received his diploma at the graduation ceremony and walked to a nearby park with his father to reunite with the rest of their family when the shooting started, said Tameeka Jackson-Smith, Jackson’s mother and Smith’s wife. She said Smith was Jackson’s father, while Edwards later referred to Smith as his stepfather.
Jackson-Smith told the Associated Press that her and Smith’s nine-year-old daughter was hit by a car in the chaos that erupted afterward. The girl was treated for leg injuries and released from the hospital, Jackson-Smith said.
Jackson-Smith said the family had watched the graduation, then got separated in a large crowd after they walked outside. “He was so happy – oh my God – because he got to graduate. He worked hard,” she said of her son.
She said she was walking toward her husband and son when she saw a man run up behind them and start shooting.
“He was just running and shooting. I had my daughter beside me and I saw her get hit by a car. My niece almost got hit by a car. I was trying to grab them,” she said.
Edwards said police believe Pollard attended the graduation, then went outside, where he had some kind of “interaction” with Pollard, and then then went to his car to retrieve a handgun.
Five others were wounded by the gunfire outside the state capital’s city-owned Altria Theater, which is across the street from a large, grassy park and in the middle of the Virginia Commonwealth University campus.Five others were wounded by the gunfire outside the state capital’s city-owned Altria Theater, which is across the street from a large, grassy park and in the middle of the Virginia Commonwealth University campus.
The theater is commonly used for school graduations and on Tuesday afternoon it was the turn of the local Huguenot high school. On Wednesday morning, discarded bright yellow sashes that had been worn by teens over their graduations gowns were still lying on the ground.The theater is commonly used for school graduations and on Tuesday afternoon it was the turn of the local Huguenot high school. On Wednesday morning, discarded bright yellow sashes that had been worn by teens over their graduations gowns were still lying on the ground.
At least 12 others were injured or treated for anxiety due to the mayhem, according to police.At least 12 others were injured or treated for anxiety due to the mayhem, according to police.
“As they heard the gunfire, it was obviously chaos,” Edwards said. “We had hundreds of people in Monroe Park, so people scattered. It was very chaotic at the scene.“As they heard the gunfire, it was obviously chaos,” Edwards said. “We had hundreds of people in Monroe Park, so people scattered. It was very chaotic at the scene.
“We think the suspect knew at least one of the victims,” Edwards said, adding: “This should have been a safe space. People should have felt safe at a graduation,” Edwards said.
“It’s just incredibly tragic that someone decided to bring a gun to this incident and rain terror on our community.”“It’s just incredibly tragic that someone decided to bring a gun to this incident and rain terror on our community.”
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Six people were brought to VCU Medical Center and their conditions ranged from serious to critical late on Tuesday, the VCU Health System spokesperson, Mary Kate Brogan, said.Six people were brought to VCU Medical Center and their conditions ranged from serious to critical late on Tuesday, the VCU Health System spokesperson, Mary Kate Brogan, said.
Multiple handguns were recovered. Police initially said two suspects were detained, but Edwards said later that they determined one of them was not involved.
Richmond’s mayor, Levar Stoney, vowed to ensure anyone responsible faces justice.Richmond’s mayor, Levar Stoney, vowed to ensure anyone responsible faces justice.
“This should not be happening anywhere,” Stoney said.“This should not be happening anywhere,” Stoney said.
Officers inside the theater, where the graduation ceremony for Huguenot high school had been taking place, heard gunfire around 5:15pm and radioed to police stationed outside, who found multiple victims, Edwards said.Officers inside the theater, where the graduation ceremony for Huguenot high school had been taking place, heard gunfire around 5:15pm and radioed to police stationed outside, who found multiple victims, Edwards said.
School board member Jonathan Young told Richmond TV station WWBT that graduates and other attendees were leaving the building when they heard about 20 gunshots in rapid succession. School board member Jonathan Young told Richmond TV station WWBT that graduates and other attendees were leaving the building when gunshots outside sent people into a panic, trying to get back inside.
“That prompted, as you would expect, hundreds of persons in an effort to flee the gunfire to return to the building,” Young said.
“It materialized in a stampede,” he said.“It materialized in a stampede,” he said.
Sign up to First Thing The Richmond Public Schools superintendent, Jason Kamras, said: “I’m just tired of seeing people get shot, our kids get shot. And I beg of the entire community to stop, to just stop.”
Start the day with the top stories from the US, plus the day’s must-reads from across the Guardian The mass shooting, the latest in a nation increasingly braced for them, prompted calls for reform.
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Two people were treated for falls; one juvenile was struck by a car and sustained injuries that were not life-threatening; and nine people were treated at the scene for minor injuries or anxiety, according to a police spokeswoman, Tracy Walker.
The Richmond Public Schools superintendent, Jason Kamras, said the new graduates were outside taking photos with families and friends when the shooting broke out.
“I don’t have any more words on this,” Kamras said. “I’m just tired of seeing people get shot, our kids get shot. And I beg of the entire community to stop, to just stop.”
As he heard the gunshots and then sirens, neighbor John Willard, 69, stepped on to the balcony of his 18th-floor apartment. Below, he saw students fleeing in their graduation outfits and parents hugging children.
“There was one poor woman in front of the apartment block next to ours who was wailing and crying,” Willard said, adding that the scene left him deeply saddened.
Edythe Payne was helping her daughter sell flowers outside the theater to students as they left the ceremony. She told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the shooting caused a panic on nearby Main Street, which was packed with people at the time.
“I felt bad because some elderly people were at the graduation and they got knocked down to the ground,” Payne said.
The school district said a different graduation scheduled for later on Tuesday had been canceled “out of an abundance of caution” and schools would be closed on Wednesday.
The mass shooting, the latest in a nation increasingly accustomed to them, prompted calls for reform.
“The gun violence epidemic is a public health crisis that we must address,” US Representative Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat whose district includes Richmond, said in a statement. “We cannot continue to live in fear. We must address the root causes of gun violence and pass common sense gun safety policies that protect our communities.”“The gun violence epidemic is a public health crisis that we must address,” US Representative Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat whose district includes Richmond, said in a statement. “We cannot continue to live in fear. We must address the root causes of gun violence and pass common sense gun safety policies that protect our communities.”