Two people were shot dead and several others injured in a shooting that occurred outside a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, late Tuesday, authorities said.
A 19-year-old male suspect is in police custody, Rick Edwards, the acting chief of the Richmond Police Department, told a news conference late Tuesday. “We think the suspect knew at least one of the victims,” he said.
The shooting occurred just before 5:15 p.m. outside the Altria Theatre. He said officers inside the area had heard gunshots and were responding to the scene, where they had found “multiple victims with gunshot wounds.”
The two people who died were an 18-year-old man and a 36-year-old man, Chief Edwards said at a news conference. Authorities have not released the identities of the victims.
Authorities have seized four firearms, but one of them is “unrelated” to Tuesday's shooting, Chief Edwards said.
Five others were shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, he said. Several other people, he said, had gone to a local hospital with injuries other than gunshots, including one person who was “run over by a car during the melee.”
Matthew Stanley, spokesman for Richmond Public Schools, confirmed that the shooting took place in Monroe Park, adjacent to the Altria Theatre, immediately after the graduation ceremony for Huguenot High School students. Another ceremony scheduled for Tuesday evening was cancelled.
Clips posted to social media appear to show the aftermath of the shooting. In one, emergency medical workers appear to be administering CPR to a victim. The students still wore robes and caps. Other regalia littered the ground.
Jonathan Young, a member of the Richmond City School Board, said he and his colleagues had just finished celebrating the graduation of about 300 students when he heard about 20 consecutive gunshots that “initiated a quick dash back into the building.” Emergency medical workers and police officers were quickly on the scene, he said, adding that he had seen many people who appeared to be injured in what he described as a ” stampede”. Mr Young said his shock quickly turned to “disgust and anger”.
A statement posted on the website for Richmond Public Schools late Tuesday addressed to family and staff members, saying that “after Huguenot High School's graduation ceremony, a shooting occurred outside in Monroe Park.” The message said all public schools in the city would be closed on Wednesday as a precaution.
“I'm tired of seeing people get shot,” Jason Kamras, superintendent of Richmond Public Schools, said at a news conference. “Our children have been shot, and I implore the whole community to stop.”
“Our children can't stand it,” said Pak Kamras. “Our teacher cannot accept it. Our family can't take it anymore. I beg you to stop.