Ceremony turns deadly: shooting leaves two dead at US graduation ceremony
Steph Deschamps / June 7, 2023
Two people were killed and five wounded Tuesday in a shooting during a graduation ceremony for high school students in Virginia, in the eastern United States, according to police.
The shooting broke out around 5:00 pmoutside a theater in Richmond, Virginia's capital, where students from a local high school were taking part in a traditional graduation ceremony, the city's acting police chief, Rick Edwards, told reporters.
An 18-year-old high school student and a 36-year-old man were killed and five other people were injured, one of whom is in critical condition, he added.
The alleged perpetrator, a 19-year-old, fled the scene but was arrested shortly afterwards and will be charged with murder, Edwards added.
The police official did not specify the motive for the shooting, but indicated that the suspect knew at least one of the victims. Several handguns were found at the scene.
More than 49,000 people died from gunshot wounds in 2021 (compared with 45,000 in 2020) in the USA, which has more firearms than inhabitants.