Police said they arrested a 19-year-old suspect who was known to one of the victims after opening fire on a crowd leaving a Huguenot High School commencement ceremony held on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.
The suspect is likely to be charged with second-degree murder along with other charges, Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said.
Mr. Edwards commented that the gunman's actions were "disgusting and cowardly" because the gunman's disagreements were only directed at one person.
“In a crowd like that, innocent people are going to get caught up in the chaos, and that’s what happened today. Of course, this is supposed to be a safe campus… It’s terrible that someone would bring a gun to this event and terrorize the community like that.”
Americans are familiar with the sight of mass shootings breaking out in public areas such as schools, shopping malls and churches.
This was the 279th mass shooting in the country in the first 157 days of 2023, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. A mass shooting is defined as a shooting in which at least four people are killed or injured, not including the shooter.
Mr. Edwards said the dead were two men, aged 18 and 36. However, he did not confirm the information that the two were father and son, as reported by the WWBT news channel.
Of the five injured, a 31-year-old man is in critical condition. The four other injured men, ages 14, 32, 55, and 58, are expected to survive.
A 9-year-old girl was also hit by a car in the chaos following the shooting, Edwards said, while others suffered minor injuries after falling or were suffering from anxiety.
The suspect fled and was arrested with four handguns, three of which may have been used. Edwards also said there was not enough investigative information to draw a firm conclusion at this time.
Nguyen Quang Minh (According to Reuters)
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