A father and son were killed and several others were hurt in a mass shooting following a high school graduation in Richmond, Virginia, police said.
The suspect, 19-year-old Ameri Ty-John Pollard, is in custody in connection with the shooting, which unfolded in a park on Tuesday after the Huguenot High School graduation ended in a nearby theater.
The suspect watched the graduation ceremony, after which it appears he went to his car to get a handgun and then returned, police said.
Killed in the shooting were Huguenot High School graduate Shawn Jackson, 18, and his father, Renzo Smith, 36.
Pollard and Jackson knew each other and had an ‘ongoing dispute,’ Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said at a news conference Wednesday.
‘This was targeted at one individual,’ Edwards said.
Five people were shot and survived: four adults and a 14-year-old boy, authorities said.
One victim, a 31-year-old, is in the hospital in life-threatening condition while the other four suffered non-life-threatening injures, authorities said.
Several others suffered various injuries in connection to the shooting.
Jackson’s 9-year-old sister was hit by a car and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Two people were treated for falls and nine people were treated for anxiety and minor injuries at the scene, police said.
The shooting took place around 5:13 p.m. in Monroe Park, near Virginia Commonwealth University, officials said.
The scene was near the Altria Theater, which was scheduled to host several graduation ceremonies for Richmond Public Schools on Tuesday.
Students in graduation gowns could be seen running away.
Jackson, who wanted to be a rapper, was ‘very, very excited’ to graduate, his aunt, Datrell Glover, told ABC News through tears.
‘I can’t believe this happy moment was ruined like this,’ she said.
‘The violence has to stop,’ she said.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney called the shooting a ‘selfish, senseless act.’
Pollard made his first appearance in court Wednesday where he was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and held without bail.
He’s due back in court on June 21.
