Richmond reels from mass shooting at graduation

City in crisis VCU’s Bertimon aces A-10 honor A8

By George Copeland Jr.

Huguenot High School graduate Shawn D. Jackson, age 18, and his stepfather Renzo R. Smith, 36, were killed when gunfire erupted Tuesday in Monroe Park following a graduation ceremony for Huguenot students at the Altria Theater.

During a press conference with city and school representatives at Richmond Police Headquarters on Wednesday, officials struck a somber note as they shared information with the public and sympathy with the victims’ family and friends in the aftermath of the shooting.

“Getting to the graduation stage was not easy for Shawn,” said Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, noting that, while he didn’t know him personally, friends and family described him as “bubbly and the life of the party.”

Photos by Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

Caught in the crossfire

‘Living in the city of Richmond, too many moms are burying their children’

Richmond School board member Nicole Jones, left, Richmond School Board Chairperson Stephanie Rizzi, center, and Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras attend the first of two press briefings at the corner of Laurel and Franklin streets following a shooting that left two people dead.

Bonnie Newman Davis/Richmond Free Press

Kendall Scott

By Darlene Johnson