Two people were killed and five others were injured in a shooting in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday. The shooting took place in the center of town after a high school graduation ceremony.
An 18-year-old school student and a 36-year-old man who participated in the ceremony have died. A 19-year-old suspect has been arrested. He is believed to be an acquaintance of at least one of the victims, Richmond’s interim police chief Rick Edwards said at a news conference. Another arrested suspect has been released.
Among the injured, a 31-year-old man is in a critical condition. A 9-year-old girl was also injured in the car collision. He was treated at a hospital Tuesday night for non-life-threatening injuries, Edwards said.
Graduation
Edwards said officers were at the Virginia Commonwealth University auditorium where the graduation ceremony was taking place. After the ceremony, shots rang out as the first people left the room. Officers immediately ran outside, where they found multiple victims with gunshot wounds.
“We will do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice,” Mayor Lever Stoney told a press conference. “This shouldn’t happen anywhere.”
Richmond Public Schools wrote in a post on its website that the shooting happened in Monroe Park, near the university’s campus, after graduation from Huguenot High School. The school district says another graduation ceremony scheduled for later Tuesday has been canceled as a precaution and schools will be closed Wednesday.
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