RICHMOND, Va. – Seven people were shot, three with life-threatening injuries, after gunshots rang out near Virginia Commonwealth University in downtown Richmond after a high school graduation ceremony on Tuesday, according to police and school district officials.
Two suspects were arrested after the incident, Richmond Police Acting Chief Rick Edwards told a news conference.
Edwards said officers inside a theater where the graduation was taking place heard the gunshots, came out and saw several victims with gunshot wounds.
Four had injuries that were not life threatening, he said.
Police did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the community.
“We will do everything we can to bring those involved in this matter to justice,” Mayor Levar Stoney said at the press conference. “That shouldn’t be happening anywhere.”
Richmond Public Schools said in a post on its website that the shooting took place in Monroe Park, which is near the college campus, after a graduation ceremony at Huguenot High School.
VCU informed the community in an online alert around 5.30pm that police were responding after shots were fired. State police sent out an alert warning people to avoid the area.
The school district said another graduation scheduled for later Tuesday was canceled “out of an abundance of caution” and schools would be closed Wednesday.