RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A man was shot and killed in the 400 block of Gilmer Street on Monday night, just over 24 hours after another fatal shooting in the same block near Virginia Commonwealth University.

According to the Richmond Police Department, officers responded to the shooting at 8:12 p.m. Once on the scene, they located an unresponsive man on the sidewalk. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Detectives said they are aware of the nearby death investigation from yesterday but it is too early to know if the two fatal shootings are related. However, RPD said they are looking into any connections between the two incidents and if there is a possible drug nexus.

A spokesperson for RPD said detectives believe there may be a drug connection between the two shootings.

RPD units responded to the 400 block of Gilmer Street at 6:20 p.m. one day earlier on Easter Sunday to investigate another shooting that left one person dead. Many of the incident details including a victim ID and suspect ID are still unknown.

At 6:48 p.m. Sunday, VCU sent out an alert with details about the first shooting. The university called the incident a homicide, adding that the suspect was in custody.

On Monday night, VCU posted an alert about the second shooting, calling that incident a homicdie as well. The university said the incident “may pose a serious or continuing threat to campus safety,” adding that suspect was seen running from the area, heading west in an alley between W. Marshall Street and W. Clay Street.

However, Richmond Police, who are leading the investigation, said on Monday that they do not have any suspect information to release in either shooting at this time.

  • Heavy police presence seen on West Clay Street on April 5, 2021. (Photo contributed by Nathan Nguyen)

VCU students were sent an initial alert at 8:18 p.m. telling them to stay indoors. After the incident was declared a homicide, the university sent a message to students telling them to follow extra safety precautions in an “urban environment.”

Many of the residents in the surrounding area are VCU students, tonight’s shooting was like Deja Vu for them.

Two students staying on W Clay Street, Katie Boller and Teddy Huffer, tell 8News they heard eight to ten gunshots ring out on Monday night. Saying, “This is the second shooting on the second day in a row.”

As for the scene that amassed around their house they say it seemed, “very go, go, go, go, go so it seemed like something very deliberate, something very intentional,” Boller said.

In the wake of yesterday’s deadly shooting another nearby resident says he heard screaming and around six gunshots.

Boller and Huffer shared that they didn’t like knowing there was so much violence happening right outside of where they live.

Another VCU student, senior Caitlin Lucas recalls getting the texts on Easter from VCU.

“I got the text but I didn’t think of it and then my roommate started facetiming me and asked if I was okay and I said yeah, what happened? and she said the shooting was on our block,” Lucas said.

Lucas wasn’t home at the time of the shooting but when she returned four hours later, around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, parts of the street were still taped off. She says a brick home on Gilmer was also taped off and officers were at the scene.

Anyone with information about the Monday night shooting can call Major Crimes Detective Higgins at 804-646-7570.

This is a breaking news story, stay with 8News for updates.