Police say the two people who died in a shooting following a high school graduation ceremony in downtown Richmond Tuesday are stepfather and stepson.
A spokesperson for the family confirms their names as Shawn Jackson, 18, one of the graduating students, and Renzo Smith, 36.
Meanwhile, Acting Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said the 19-year old suspect, Amari Ty-Jon Pollard, was arraigned Wednesday morning in Richmond General District Court on two counts of second-degree murder.
He's being held without bond, and Edwards said further charges are still pending.
Five others were injured in the shooting at the Altria Theater on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, all males between the ages of 14 and 58.
The city's police department and the FBI have set up a website where residents can send in photos and videos of the incident.
Richmond Public School and school division offices are closed Wednesday, and all high school graduations scheduled for this week have also been canceled.
Shortly after the shooting Tuesday, Republican Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome-Earle Sears called for greater accountability from Richmond’s leaders when it comes to locking up those responsible for gun violence.
"When do we say Enough is enough and lock up the criminals responsible for terrorizing our communities?," she Tweeted.
Democrats pushed back on Twitter, noting that Earle-Sears, a U.S. Marine veteran, held an assault-style rifle in an image she used in her 2021 campaign.
Democrat and Virginia House Minority Leader Don Scott Tweeted back about “this gaslighting and political pandering by a Lt. Governor who literally campaigned holding a picture of an assault rifle is lecturing others on gun violence.” Scott says she ran to the scene of the shooting with no empathy for the victims.
Also on Twitter, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said “our hearts break together for those whose lives were lost, - we grieve for their classmates, neighbors, and the whole Richmond community.”
