At least 2 people dead, several injured in Richmond shooting

At least two people were killed, and several people were injured in a shooting near Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond on Tuesday.

Interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said at a press conference that three off-duty officers were working as security inside a theater for a high school graduation when they heard gunshots at 5:13 p.m. He initially said three of the injured have life-threatening injuries, while four have non-life-threatening injuries.

He said at a later press conference that two of those with life-threatening injuries had died, identifying them as an 18-year-old male and a 36-year-old male. He said the remaining victim with life-threatening injuries is 31 years old.

Edwards said the four who were shot with non-life-threatening injuries are all male and are ages 14, 32, 55 and 58.

He said multiple people were taken to hospitals for injuries that were not gunshot wounds, including a 9-year-old girl who was treated at the scene before going to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Edwards said earlier that two suspects were taken into custody from the incident. He later clarified that one subject who had a firearm was detained, but officials believe he is uninvolved in the shooting.

He said the other individual is 19 years old, and officials plan to seek two charges of second-degree murder against them, with additional charges potentially following.

“At this time, I’d like to just express my concerns and sympathy for those who have lost their lives today and those whose lives were forever changed by the events today,” Edwards said.

Officials later identified the suspect as Amari Pollard and the deceased victims as Shawn Jackson and Renzo Smith. Smith was Jackson’s stepfather.

Authorities said the shooting resulted from an “ongoing dispute” between Pollard and Jackson.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney vowed at the earlier press conference that those responsible would face justice, saying, “This should not be happening anywhere.”

VCU said in an earlier alert to students that police were on the scene after shots were fired near Monroe Park, the city’s oldest park, which is adjacent to the university’s campus. It said the public should avoid the park. 

It later said in another update that the Richmond and VCU police departments were on the scene, but no threat remained. It said Richmond Police are leading the investigation. 

Richmond Public Schools said in a message on its website that the shooting took place after a graduation ceremony for Huguenot High School. It said all its schools will be closed Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution.” 

Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) tweeted she and her staff are closely monitoring the situation. She said the situation is “heartbreaking” and she is “praying for the safety of everyone involved.”