RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond residents are growing tired of violent crime after a high school student was shot and killed over the weekend.
A Richmond school board member told 8News Sunday the victim attended George Wythe High School.
Officers responded to Afton Avenue after getting a call for a person shot around 2:30 a.m. When they arrived to the scene, police found a girl shot to death inside of a home.
Montique Williams said he was with his family that morning when he heard the gunfire.
“I heard about five or six gunshots and I just told them to get down because I didn’t know where the shots were coming from,” he said.
Last week, six people were shot in the city and as of Thursday two of those victims died.
Police have reported 13 homicides so far this year.
As of April 6, deadly shootings were up 20% from this time last year, which was the deadliest in the city in 15 years.
Williams said for the sake of his family, the gun violence needs to stop.
“I was brought up in southside, so you know, in my day it was ok,” he said. “Now they’re not waiting until at night to kill you. They’re killing you in the morning time, evening time. So I’m just scared for my grandkids.”
8News spoke with friends of the victim Sunday. They describe her as someone who was always full of joy, brought light to every room she walked in and loved her family dearly.
Stay with 8News as we work to learn more about this investigation.
