The Altria Theater, on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, Virginia (USA), had been reserved all day for the ceremonies of the public schools of the city. Around 5:13 p.m. Tuesday, as the young graduates of the Huguenot high school, in “graduation” gowns, radiant and relieved, left the theater, a man opened fire in the crowd, killing an 18-year-old high school student who had just graduated, and a 36-year-old man who attended the ceremony. They might have a family connection.
Six people were shot, one of them seriously. They are 14, 31, 32, 55, and 58 years old. Three other people were injured in the panic that followed the gunshots, two fell and a 9-year-old girl was hit by a car as she fled the scene.
The 19-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released, left the scene on foot and was arrested in possession of four handguns, three of which may have been used in the shooting. He could be charged with two second degree murders. Another man, arrested in possession of a pistol, was quickly released.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the alleged shooter knew the first victim and may have wanted to attack only her. His gesture is all the more “disgusting and cowardly”, accused the acting chief of the police of Richmond, Rick Edwards, during a press conference on Tuesday evening.
“When you have a crowd like this, innocent people are going to get caught up in the chaos, and that’s what happened today,” Edwards said. “Obviously this should have been a safe space… It is incredibly tragic that someone decided to bring a gun to this incident and rain terror on our community.”
“selfish and senseless act”
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney called the shooting a “selfish and senseless act.” The Thomas Jefferson High School graduation ceremony scheduled for Tuesday evening has been canceled and all public schools in the city will be closed this Wednesday.
This “mass killing” is the 279th recorded in the United States since the beginning of 2023 by the Gun Violence Archivewhich considers shootings involving four or more people, not counting the shooter(s).
2023-06-07 07:10:00
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