RICHMOND, Va. — One person died in a shooting on Sunday morning, following two double shootings that injured four people within 36 hours in Richmond. This surge in violence comes after the city’s police chief had shared positive gun violence statistics just a few days earlier.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards had announced, “Compared to this time last year, we are down 12 percent in overall shootings, which is encouraging.”
The latest incident occurred early Sunday morning on Richmond’s Southside, where a man was found dead on the road. Police were called to the 1000 block of German School Road at 6:50 a.m. and found the man with a fatal gunshot wound.
Another shooting happened at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday in the 1200 block of Brookland Park Boulevard on the city’s Northside, where two men were shot in the chest and sustained life-threatening injuries.
Additionally, two men were shot at the Woodland Crossing apartments off Walmsley Boulevard around 10 p.m. on Friday. Their injuries were not life-threatening, according to police. Sources indicated that these shootings on Friday and Saturday were unrelated.
Despite the recent violence, faith and community leaders emphasize the city’s ongoing efforts to reduce crime. Charles Willis of United Communities Against Crime praised the collective work of community mediators and organizations in decreasing crime rates.
“We’ve been working together to reduce crime,” Willis said. “Unfortunately, some individuals still resort to violence instead of resolving conflicts peacefully.”
Rev. Gwendolyn Andrews added, “We teach conflict resolution and anger management, but in a big city, it’s a continuous challenge.”
While the recent shootings are concerning, community leaders believe that their collaborative efforts with the police, particularly through Operation Safe Summer, have been effective in saving lives.
“The Richmond Police have done an excellent job in coordinating community resources,” Willis said. “We want people to call us before situations escalate to this level.”
Andrews concluded, “When people have hope and know better, they can do better. We are here to guide them toward that path.”