RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Richmond Police Department is investigating a double shooting that killed a teenager and hurt his mother in Gilpin Court on Saturday.
Police identified the victim as 18-year-old Jessie Crumble Bullock. In an exclusive interview with 8news, family members confirmed that Bullock’s mother, Jessica Crumble, had also been struck.
“It’s just messed up right now,” said an aunt of Crumble Bullock, as she described the horrific events that led up to the shooting.
She said Bullock was returning home from the corner store when someone began chasing him down, and firing a gun. Bullock entered his home as the gunfire continued. Family members told 8News the bullets struck the teen and his mother as she tried to stop the commotion.
The two were rushed to the hospital, but the teen died shortly after.
“She wiped his face. She was trying to keep him comfortable. She was trying to help him breathe,” said an aunt. “I heard her on the phone talking to him, and it’s just not right. She got shot trying to protect him.”
Crumble was released from the hospital early Monday morning after suffering a gunshot wound in her hand. While she’s recovering physically, family said it’s an uphill battle emotionally.
“My sister is all the way messed up. She sat there and protected her baby and got shot herself. More than one time. Putting up her hand to stop gunshots from going into her baby,” she said.
A spokesperson for Richmond Public Schools confirms that Bullock was a student in the district. Family said he had just turned 18 in July and was preparing to play football.
“He played for Thomas Jefferson and was about to start at John Marshall. He was into sports and being a respectful kid,” the aunt said. “He was one of the sweetest kids I ever met.”
Charles Willis, the executive director of United Communities Against Crime, said he received a call about the shooting on Saturday. He said recent crime is plaguing the city of Richmond, especially the youth.
“We are losing our youth at an alarming rate,” Willis said. “We are plagued by the gun violence. It’s like a pandemic.”
When asked about solutions, Willis believes more can be done in schools to help prevent crime, and get to the root cause of the violence.
“We are asking that all the school districts would consider having peer mediation, violence prevention and conflict resolution taught in our schools,” he said. “This is the type of crime that has to stop.”
As of Monday evening, Richmond police had not released any suspect information. Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to call Detective N. Reese at 804-646-0712 or contact Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
