Two dead, five injured in Richmond high school graduation shooting

Richmond, Virginia police responded to a shooting that occurred during a high school graduation ceremony on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University on Tuesday.

Seven people were shot in the incident, leaving three people with life-threatening injuries and four with non-life-threatening injuries, acting Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said at a press conference on Tuesday. . Two people were killed in the shooting, WRIC reports, and children were among those injured in the incident, according to the outlet.

Five other people went to hospital with other injuries, he added. Bystanders were also injured fleeing the shooting, including people who fell and a person who was hit by a car.

Two people were arrested in connection with the violence, Mr Edwards said.

According to the university’s Security Alert System, shots were fired on the Monroe Park campus after 5 p.m. Eastern Time near the Altria Theater.

“The kids were involved here…it’s their graduation day,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said Tuesday. “The question that comes to mind right now is: Is there nothing sacred anymore? Is there nothing sacred anymore?

“This must stop. We know where it starts,” Lieutenant Governor Virginia Winsome Earle-Sears said Tuesday, speaking to reporters on campus. “If I had accountability and responsibility, it wouldn’t continue to happen. The people who are elected here, they are in charge. They need to make this adjustment so that this, the shooting, doesn’t happen again. »

Three off-duty officers were inside the theater and heard gunshots around 5:13 p.m., running outside and meeting the victims.

VCU police said Tuesday there was no continuing threat to the public.

“Multiple injuries reported. There is no immediate threat to the public,” the Richmond Police Department tweeted on Tuesday. “Avoid the area.”

The shooting took place outside of Huguenot High School’s graduation ceremony, Richmond Public Schools told the station.

Jason Alexander, whose son was part of the graduation ceremony, told NBC12 the shooting looked like “fireworks” and sent crowds scattering outside the theater.

The man said he saw several injured people and estimated he heard eight to ten gunshots.

“It makes no sense,” another passerby told the station. “We are supposed to be happy with people. We are meant to support each other, love each other, hug each other. So go. I just think it’s bad. We have to do better.”

The man told the station that one of his daughter’s friends was among the injured.

“Everyone literally started running for their lives,” a witness told 8News.

The incident happened towards the end of the ceremony, witnesses told WTVR.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan of Virginia wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “My team and I are monitoring this situation closely. Pray for the safety of everyone involved. I encourage anyone who can to avoid the area.

Bystander video of the shooting shows crowds of people running across the campus green after the shooting.

Virginia State Police and Richmond Police officers are investigating the campus.

Police were seen by local reporters searching a car near campus.

Richard Public Schools will be closed Wednesday after the shooting, school officials wrote on the RPS website.

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