A terrifying video has emerged that captures the moment a gunman opens fire at a Virginia high school graduation as students can be seen scrambling all over for cover in the latest incident of mass shooting in the United States. Two men, an 18-year-old who had just graduated and a 36-year-old, were shot dead, while five others were wounded in the shooting.
Police said the suspect, a 19-year-old man, has been taken into custody and will be charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Authorities also revealed that the gunman knew at least one of the victims. However, the motive behind the shooting is still unclear as police continue to investigate the tragic incident.
Chilling Scenes
A new video posted to Twitter and Facebook shows students from Huguenot High School happy and in a celebratory mood as they hug their families following the graduation ceremony.
Moments later, the student filming the joyful scene revealed the chaos as hundreds of people scurried for shelter as gunshots rang out. Although the shooter is not visible in the video, 20 or so gunshots can be heard fired off-camera.
Police are yet to reveal the name of the victims and the suspect but said that the 18-year-old was among the grads. A motive for the shooting is yet to be released.
In a briefing just after 9 am on Tuesday, Interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said that multiple handguns were recovered from the scene.
The gunshots started around 5:15 pm across from Virginia Commonwealth University's Altria Theater, where Huguenot High School was holding its commencement celebration, Edwards said at the press conference.
According to the police chief, officers inside the cinema heard gunfire and radioed officers stationed outside, who then found numerous shooting victims in a park next to the theater.
"As they heard the gunfire, it was obviously chaos," Edwards said. "We had hundreds of people in Monroe Park, so people scattered. It was very chaotic at the scene."
According to Edwards, there were five other victims who were shot, including a 14-year-old boy and four men who were 31, 32, 55, and 58 years old. According to police, the four other survivors were listed in stable condition while the 31-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries.
In addition to the seven persons shot, two others suffered falls, a 9-year-old was hit by a car at the scene, and three more required hospitalization for panic attacks.
The young girl suffered only minor injuries.
Edwards said that there was no longer a threat to the public after police arrested the offender.
Complete Chaos
Earlier reports claimed that as the shooter began firing outside the Altria Theater in Richmond shortly after 5:00 pm on Tuesday, bystanders heard up to "20 bangs," which reportedly caused "hundreds" to run for shelter.
Images and video taken at the scene showed multiple law enforcement authorities guarding the area with police tape and issuing a warning to the public to "avoid the area," as students wept following the horrific shooting, which Edwards described as "disgusting."
According to authorities, a 31-year-old shooting victim is still in the hospital with serious injuries.
A nine-year-old child who was struck by a car in the midst of the chaos was also rushed to the hospital, but he or she is expected to make it.
Police had initially arrested two people after the shooting, although just one person was found to be a suspect in the shooting. The other was allowed to leave.
"I'd like to just express my concerns and sympathy for those who have lost their lives today, and those whose lives were forever changed," Edwards said.
"This should have been a safe space, this is incredibly tragic that someone brought a gun to this and rained terror on these people."
The theater located on the Virginia Commonwealth University campus was supposed to host three high school graduations on Tuesday.
Edwards claimed that when the mass shooting began, cops were already on the site and had already called dispatch to report the horrific incident.
Richmond Public Schools will be closed on Wednesday following the shooting incident.
"This is supposed to be a joyous day when our kids walk the stage and get their diplomas. Which is what they all did here for Huguenot today, and walked out the doors into their families' and friends' arms taking pictures," Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras said at a 7 pm briefing.
"Then this tragedy occurred. I don't have any more words on this. I'm tired of seeing people get shot. Our kids get shot. And I beg of the entire community to stop, to just stop."
