Virginia graduation shooting – updates: Richmond school official recounts victim’s heartbreaking last moments

Seven people shot in incident on Virginia Commonwealth University’s Monroe Park campus on Tuesday afternoon, with Shawn Jackson, 18, and his stepfather Lorenzo Smith, 36, dying of their injuries

Seven shot, at least two dead at high school graduation in Richmond

Amari Pollard, the 19-year-old suspect in the gun attack on a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, was arraigned on Wednesday morning and charged with two counts of second-degree murder, according to the Richmond Police Department (RPD).

Seven people were shot in the incident on Virginia Commonwealth University’s Monroe Park campus on Tuesday afternoon, with Shawn Jackson, 18, and his stepfather Lorenzo Smith, 36, dying of their injuries.

“I didn’t know Shawn, but I shook his hand and wished him congratulations about 20 minutes before he died,” Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras told CNN on Wednesday. “I can’t shake the image of him receiving CPR on the ground, still in his graduation gown.”

The outburst of gunfire caused a stampede as graduates and guests attempted to flee the vicinity, a moment of panic captured in at least one video subsequently posted to Facebook. The Richmond Police Department told The Independent in a statement that detectives have determined the shootings were not a random act but resulted from an ongoing dispute between Mr Pollard and Jackson.

“This should not be happening anywhere,” lamented city mayor Levar Stoney.

“Whether it’s in Richmond, it’s in Virginia, in the United States this should not be happening anywhere. A child should be able to go to their graduation and walk at their graduation and enjoy the accomplishment with their friends and their families.”

Key Points

• Two killed and five injured in Richmond high school graduation mass shooting
• Facebook video captures moment graduates flee burst of gunfire
• Victims killed are stepfather and son Lorenzo Smith and Shawn Jackson
• Shooting suspect Amari Pollard, 19, arraigned

[9 June 2023 13:00 · Andrea Blanco]

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.

The Independent’s Ariana Baio reports:

[9 June 2023 14:00 · Andrea Blanco]

IN PICTURES: Heartbreaking scene following terror

Police vehicles are seen parked near a park where, according to the police, a gunman opened fire, in Richmond, Virginia (Twitter@GoadGatsby via REUTERS)

Richmond Shooting (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Law enforcement officers investigate at the scene after a gunman opened fire in a park as high school graduates and their families emerged from a theater where commencement exercises had just concluded, in Richmond, Virginia (Reuters)

Richmond Shooting (Copyright The Richmond Times-Dispatch)