A high school gathered to celebrate graduation. Then two people were killed in America’s latest mass shooting
Two people were killed and five others injured during a shooting after a high school graduation in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday. Ariana Baio reports
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Shortly after graduates from Huguenot High School and their families exited from the graduation ceremony at Altria Theater in Richmond, Virginia, gunfire erupted killing two people and injuring five others.
Shots were fired into the crowd of people celebrating in Monroe Park at approximately 5.15pm local time on Tuesday.
The victims include a deceased stepfather and son who were killed, identified as 18-year-old Shawn Jackson and 36-year-old Lorenzo Smith. Five others were injured by bullets, ranging in age from 14 to 55 years old.
Footage of the incident shows the crowd of people descending into chaos as they tried to escape the gun violence. As a result of the rush, two other people were injured including a nine-year-old.
Richmond Police Department officers quickly responded to the horrific incident and have one suspect - 19-year-old Amari Ty-Jon Pollard - in custody who they believe was involved in the shooting.
The tragedy marks the 279th mass shooting to occur in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Here’s everything we know so far
The shooting
Richmond Police Department officers responded to shots fired at Monroe Park outside of Altria Theatre on Tuesday (6 June) at approximately 5.15pm local time - just after the graduation ceremony for students at Huguenot High School.
Hundreds of people were gathered in the open-space park as they celebrated the new high school graduates.
Officers inside Altira Theatre heard the gunshots and found “multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” Rick Edwards, Richmond Police Department’s acting chief, said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Two people, a stepfather and son were shot and killed.
Five other people suffered gunshot wounds, one of which had life-threatening injuries but was later declared non-life-threatening.
Other people were injured as a result of the chaotic scene caused by the hundreds of people running, including a nine-year-old who was struck by a car.
In the hours following the shooting, Richmond Public Schools (RPS) posted a notice on their website closing schools on Wednesday and cancelling all high school graduations for the week.
“RPS offers its deepest condolences to the victims and families of yesterday’s shooting, and to all who are impacted by the events that took place,” the notice reads.
The victims
Two of the victims killed have been identified as Shawn Jackson, 18, and his stepfather, Lorenzo Smith, 36, by Jackson’s mother and Smith’s wife, Tameek Jackson-Smith, to NBC News.
Jackson had just graduated from high school on Tuesday and Smith was attending, according to Mr Edwards.
A GoFundMe has been started for Ms Jackson-Smith to assist with unexpected expenses, grief counseling, medical bills and any other financial assistance.
Five other people suffered gunshot injuries as a result of the shooting: a 14-year-old boy, a 31-year-old, a 32-year-old man, a 55-year-old man and a 58-year-old man.
Two other people self-transported or were transported via ambulance to a hospital due to injuries sustained during the mad rush as gunshots erupted.
One of them was a nine-year-old girl identified in the GoFundMe as the younger sister of Jackson.
According to the GoFundMe description, the young girl is “now wheel chair bound” after being struck by a vehicle. Mr Edwards said the girl was treated at the scene and released then subsequently went to a local hospital where she continues to have “non-life-threatening wounds”.
On Wednesday, Mr Edwards called the young girls’ injuries “very minor.”
Superintendent of Richmond Public Schools, Jason Kamras, appeared at a news conference on Tuesday and said: “I’m tired of seeing people get shot, our kids get shot, and I beg of the entire community to stop.”
The suspects
Shortly after the shooting, police detained two individuals – one of which police believe was involved in the shooting. Police also recovered “multiple” handguns following the shooting.
Mr Edwards said after an investigation police believe the other person detained was not involved in the shooting itself.
The suspect has been identified as 19-year-old Amari Ty-Jon Pollard who police believe “knew at least one of the victims”.
Mr Pollard was detained by Virginia Commonwealth University security after trying to flee from the scene on foot, according to police.
He was arraigned on Wednesday, 7 June, morning on two counts of second-degree murder.
As of Tuesday evening, K-9 units were searching for additional firearms or casings but Mr Edwards said the police: “Feel pretty good about where we are, forensically, at this time” and stated they were not searching for additional suspects.