In Pics | Gunman shoots two dead, wounds five others at Virginia high school graduation
Police investigating the crime scene
Law enforcement officers investigated the scene after in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday, June 6 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.
One suspect
Police said they arrested one suspect, a 19-year-old man who knew one of the victims and shot at him. The suspect shot the victims as soon as the crowd emerged from the Huguenot High School's commencement ceremony inside a theatre on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Several injured
The deceased were men aged 18 and 36. Among the wounded were a 31-year-old man who suffered life-threatening injuries and four other males aged 14, 32, 55 and 58 - all of whom are expected to survive.
A 9-year-old girl was struck by a car in the chaos that ensued, and multiple other people were injured in falls or suffered from anxiety.
The suspect fled the scene on foot and was captured in possession of four handguns.
Charges might include second-degree murder
As per statements given by interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards to the press, the suspect is likely to be charged with two counts of second-degree murder in addition to other offenses. During his press conference, Edwards referred to the shooter's behavior as "disgusting and cowardly". Edwards further added that "When you have a crowd like this, innocent people are going to be caught up in the mayhem, and that's what happened today. Obviously, this should have been a safe space...It's just incredibly tragic that someone decided to bring a gun to this incident and rain terror on our community."
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