RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Richmond’s police chief is responding after at least two people are dead and 10 others are injured in eight different shooting incidents over the weekend.
The continued violence begs the question — where are the violence interrupters Mayor Levar Stoney announced back in February?
The weekend was tragic, starting with Friday afternoon when 26-year-old mom Imani Hill was shot and killed in a fight outside of Westover Hills Elementary School in broad daylight.
Hill was taken to the hospital in a personal car and died shortly after, leaving behind a little boy.
On Sunday, officers found two men with gunshot wounds near Fairfield Court Elementary School in Richmond.
The same day, a man was found shot dead in a car and another man was injured in a shooting on South 22nd Street.
It has been eight months since Mayor Stoney announced gun violence interrupters were coming to Richmond to help curb the violence, but still, after all this time, there has not been any word on when they will start work.
“This is a stark reminder that guns are not the solution,” Richmond Police chief Gerald Smith said. “As a community, we must find more constructive ways of resolving conflict.”
8News has reached out to the City of Richmond and the Richmond Police Department to ask where they are with the current hiring process for violence interrupters.
The city also announced in early October that the United States Department of Justice gave them nearly $2 million to help reduce youth gun violence.
8News will continue to follow where those dollars go and if they will help curb the violence.
