( 📸: WWBT )
Cousins! Tragedy struck outside of a high-school graduation ceremony Tuesday night as family and friends came together to celebrate in Richmond!
The incident took place within the Richmond Monroe Park area of Virginia at Altria Theater, as hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the graduating class of Huguenot High School around 5PM. According to reports from Fox News,a gunman decided to open fire tragically killing two people and injuring others.
A 18 year old male graduate was fatally shot and a 36 year old male attendee has also passed away. As of right now neither of their identies have been publicly released. Officials state that additional attendees had still been exiting the theater when they heard a total of twenty gun shots ring off.
“That prompted, as you would expect, hundreds of persons in an effort to flee the gunfire to return to the building,”said member of the school board Jonathan Young.
Police officers within the area working traffic duty contacted dispatch around 5:13 PM alerting them of gunshots also.
It has been been indicated that five additional people were hit all facing different degree of injuries. Two others were treated at the scene following a fall, a 9 year old was hit by a car and is said to have sustained non life threatening injuries. An additional 9 people were treated for minor injuries including anxiety.
A 19 year old male identified as the gunman had attempted to flee the scene but thankfully was captured by officials within the area. Reports read that there were multiple firearms discovered within the teen’s car at the time of his arrest.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney described the shooting as being, “traumatic” for everyone.
“My administration continues monitoring the terrible shooting in the heart of Richmond tonight. State law enforcement are fully supporting the Richmond Police Department as this investigation moves forward.”
“Is nothing sacred any longer? We’re going to do everything we can to bring the individuals who are involved in this to justice. Not just for the families involved, but also the city,” he added.
According to the outlet another graduation ceremony was scheduled to take place directly afterwards but was canceled following the tragic series of events.
The incident is currently under investigation by the Richmond Police Department, officials are also on standby surrounding Richmond Park.
The gunman is currently facing charges for two counts of second-degree murder.
Cousins, please keep all attendees, victims and families in your prayers!