Police: Richmond men involved in crash ‘appear to have been shot’

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC)– Leftover belongings and broken rails remained scattered along Bland Street in Richmond Wednesday following a crash earlier in the morning.

The crash happened on Forest Hill Avenue at Bland Street. Police got a call for random gunfire in the area, and then they found the crash scene when they arrived.

Police later identified the victims as two Richmond men, 24-year-old Cinque Johnson and 24-year-old Larry Branch, Jr. A third person is in the hospital being treated for injuries, according to police.

Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene and Branch died later at the hospital. According to police, all three men in the car appeared to have been shot.

Friends and family came to the scene throughout the day to pay their respects.

“That’s a tragedy. I can’t believe it happened. I just saw him,” said Dazel Smith, who is a family friend of one of the victims.

Smith lives just a few blocks from where the crash occurred. He had just had a conversation with one of the victims, regarding the purchase of a new pair of shoes. He was shocked from the news of his friend’s death.

“That’s a blow to his family. A blow to his friends. A blow to everybody,” said Smith. “He would have given the shirt off of his back.”

Richmond police responded around 1:15 a.m. after a call for gunfire in the area. Police found one vehicle flipped over in a creek, which had been there for nearly three hours.

Authorities said a car drove through the guardrail across from the Crossroads Coffee and Ice Cream restaurant, and into the creek below.

Police are investigating the deaths of both Johnson and Branch