Four shot in Richmond violence during Election Day
on November 5, 2014
Four teens were struck in back-to-back shootings as violence marred Election Day in Richmond, prompting police to deploy extra patrols to head off any further violence.
About 6:53 p.m., a 16-year-old boy was hit while standing outside in the 2800-block of McBryde Ave. Witnesses reported seeing two suspects emerge from a car they’d parked nearby just before opening fire, said Richmond Police Capt. Mark Gagan.
The victim drove to Doctors Medical Center where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the leg.
Just one minute later, less than one mile to the west, two teens were shot when someone opened fire from a black SUV.
Police responded to the shooting in the 1500-block of Visalia Ave. to find two 16-year-old boys suffering from gunshot wounds.
A third gunshot victim from that drive-by, a 16-year-old girl, later arrived at Kaiser Medical Center, Gagan said.
Shots were also fired on the 2800-block of Wendell Ave. as officers investigated the scene of the first shooting just two blocks away. Nobody there was reported hit, according to Gagan.
The shootings may be related.
“Because of the time and location, we are investigating whether all three are involved,” Gagan said. “We highly suspect that the two where people were struck are involved.”
Three of the four victims are listed in serious to stable condition, with shots to their legs. The fourth was initially described as critical, but later upgraded to serious but stable.
No arrests have been made and officers are investigating what prompted the violence. Extra police patrols will be deployed in an attempt to deter further bloodshed.
“Because of the nature of retaliatory violence, shootings like that can spark other shootings,” Gagan said.
In a seemingly unrelated incident, a dead man was also found near the Hilltop Mall on Tuesday night.
About 9:22 p.m., police responded to the rear parking lot of the Mechanics Bank at 3170 Hilltop Mall Road, where they discovered an unresponsive person suffering from an apparent head injury.
Medical personnel declared the person dead at the scene and the coroner’s office is conducting an autopsy to determine cause of death.
Police believe that the man may have fallen while intoxicated, but are awaiting video footage from the bank to confirm what happened. For now the incident is being investigated as an unexplained death, Gagan said.
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These shootings had nothing to do with the election voting. So, why even mention that they ” marred the election day?”
I am sure 99.99999% of Richmond voters knew nothing about them until well after the events were reported in the news.