2023 Richmond Shooting

On June 6, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in Monroe Park in Richmond, Virginia, immediately after a graduation ceremony for Huguenot High School held at the nearby Altria Theater on the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Monroe Park campus. The ceremony began at 4 p.m. local time, and graduate Shawn Jackson left the theater afterward to reunite with his family in the park.

The shooting began around 5:13 p.m. as attendees were exiting the theater. Police officers providing security inside the theater heard gunshots and relayed the information to other emergency responders; VCU issued a campus alert at 5:15 p.m. A member of the Richmond City School Board who was present described hearing about 20 shots fired in quick succession shortly after leaving the building. A witness selling items to families described chaos in the area, with people trampling others and dropping belongings as they fled. The assailant was reported to have been armed with four handguns, three of which were used. Authorities considered the threat neutralized about one hour after the shooting began.

Authorities said seven people were wounded by gunfire, three of them with life-threatening injuries, and that two of the wounded later died: Lorenzo Smith, 36, and his stepson Shawn Jackson, 18, one of the graduates. Smith's 9-year-old daughter was struck by a car while fleeing the area; she was treated at the scene and later hospitalized before being released by June 7. An additional eleven people were injured in ways not linked directly to gunfire — nine treated for minor injuries and anxiety, and two who suffered falls.

Two people were initially arrested in connection with the shooting. One, 19-year-old Amari Pollard, remained the primary suspect; police said he had a long-running dispute with Shawn Jackson. Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said Pollard attended the graduation, had an "interaction" with Jackson afterward, and then retrieved a handgun from his car. The second person arrested was later determined by investigators not to have been involved. Police said they intended to pursue second-degree murder charges against Pollard, who was held without bond and arraigned on two counts of second-degree murder on the morning of June 7, with a further hearing scheduled for later that month. In February 2024, Pollard pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the death of Shawn Jackson and was sentenced to 43 years in prison, with 18 years suspended.

In the aftermath, a graduation ceremony for Thomas Jefferson High School scheduled at the Altria Theater later that evening was canceled, and all remaining graduation ceremonies for the week were canceled and later rescheduled to take place at individual schools with increased security. Richmond Public Schools closed on June 7 and remained closed for the rest of the school year as a precaution. Local officials, including Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, expressed sympathy for victims, while Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears attributed the violence to gang activity; police at the time said they believed the suspect knew the victims.