Global Courant
Two people, including an 18-year-old man who had just graduated from college, were killed and five others injured in a shooting Tuesday following a high school graduation on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond police said.
One of two people initially taken into custody, a 19-year-old man, was suspected in the shooting, Richmond’s interim police chief Rick Edwards said at a news conference. A second person detained was not involved, he said.
The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, faces two counts of manslaughter, the interim chief said. Authorities believe the suspect knew at least one of the victims, he said.
The deceased were identified as an 18-year-old college graduate and a 36-year-old man who was present at the ceremony, Edwards said. Police have not released their names.
The five injured victims — all men — range in age from 14 to 58, he said.
One of the victims, a 31-year-old, was treated for life-threatening injuries, and four had injuries that were not considered life-threatening, police said.
Investigators at the scene of a shooting on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday.WWBT
Another six people sought treatment for conditions such as anxiety and falls, police said. One was a 9-year-old who was hit by a car, treated at the scene and released, then checked over by a hospital, where the child remained, Edwards said.
VCU Medical Center in Richmond said it received six patients ranging in condition from severe to critical, spokesperson Danielle Pierce said by email.
“There were kids here at a graduation,” said Mayor Levar M. Stoney. “This is tragic but also traumatic. Because this is their graduation day.”
The shooting occurred at 5:13 p.m. in Monroe Park, an open space on campus, authorities said. Four firearms were recovered at the scene, de Edwards said.
Graduation from Huguenot High School was scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Altria Theater, adjacent to the park, according to the school’s website.
In a post on the Richmond Public Schools website, the district said the shooting happened in the park after graduation. It said all district schools would be closed on Wednesday and all high school graduations have been canceled this week.
Police at the scene of a shooting on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday.WWBT
The university initially said the shooting was part of an “active threat” on campus. School officials later said in a campus warning, “There is no ongoing threat to the community, but there is a heavy police presence in Monroe Park.”
Tuesday night, Virginia Commonwealth President Michael Rao tweeted: “Graduation should be a time of happiness and celebration. Today’s shooting is heartbreaking and shocking.”
Gemma DiCasimirro and Lindsey Pipia contributed.
