This is an evolving story that is being updated as more information becomes available.

1:45 p.m.: Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said a mass shooting that unfolded in the early morning hours of Saturday in Shockoe Bottom appears to have stemmed from a fight between two groups of people that escalated when guns were drawn. 

The Richmond Police Department is still piecing together what happened after the shooting at 2:47 a.m. left two people dead and seven others injured. Authorities have identified the victims who were killed as Genesis Jones, 23, of Petersburg and Dominic Antoine Jackson, 42, of Henrico. 

But surveillance already obtained by the department provides some early indications of how the incident unfolded, said Edwards in a press conference early Saturday afternoon.

“I can confirm that this did not originate in a club. All the bars were closed at 2 a.m.,” he said. “This was people hanging out on the streets. Two groups of individuals started fighting.”

“Multiple people entered that fight with firearms in hand,” he continued. 

Surveillance footage also indicates multiple people were filming the fight before shots were fired, said the chief, who pleaded with members of the public who may have any video of the incident to share it with the police department. 

“Anyone, anyone with video of this incident, leading up to it or right after, we ask them to share that with us,” Edwards said. “We need that information. We’re piecing these pieces together. We’re looking at all the evidence we have.” 

Edwards said police have recovered 50 cartridge casings and two firearms, although they believe more firearms were involved. They also towed six cars as part of their investigations. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, is assisting Richmond police with ballistics. Edwards said RPD would be working “around the clock” on the case. 

Edwards said an RPD officer was close by when the shooting broke out and arrived at the scene before 911 calls started pouring in. Ambulance and fire responders responded a minute later and “immediately began rendering aid,” he added. 

Seven other people received medical help. One remains in life-threatening condition. 

Mayor Danny Avula described the situation as “absolutely heartbreaking” and said that “justice must be served.”   

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. “This is not how people want to live. It is not what our city is about. It is not what the residents of our city deserve.” 

Both he and Edwards pointed to the widespread prevalence of guns as a major contributor to the ongoing violence that has plagued Shockoe Bottom. Edwards noted that the Richmond Police Department seizes more than 1,800 guns in Richmond annually on average — about a third of what the New York City Police Department seizes.

“It just shows you the omnipresence of firearms in our city,” he said. “The sheer amount of guns that are on the streets in our city is shocking.”

The department asks anyone with information about the shooting to call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000, or use the smartphone app.

Original story, 7:15 a.m.: Richmond police said that nine people were shot in an exchange of gunfire in the early hours of Saturday in Shockoe Bottom.

According to the department, the shooting took place at 2:47 a.m. at 18th and Main streets.

Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and three others were hospitalized.

Police wrote: "In total, nine adults were shot in this incident: a male and a female with fatal injuries, a male with injuries that are considered life threatening, and three males and three females with injuries that are not considered life threatening."

410 guns have been stolen from cars in Richmond this year. One area has been a particular hotspot.

Edwards said most of the vehicles from which guns are stolen are unlocked at the time of the theft.

The RichmonderSarah Vogelsong

Shockoe Bottom has been a persistent problem for police due to the high volume of people who regularly congregate there, particularly on the weekends, to attend the clubs and bars concentrated in the area.

Many of those people are carrying firearms, say both police and business owners. Hundreds of guns are stolen annually from cars in both the Bottom and the adjacent Shockoe Slip, and numerous videos circulating online have shown altercations on the neighborhood’s crowded streets between individuals openly carrying and in some instances shooting guns. In an email obtained last year by Richmond station WTVR, one RPD officer called Shockoe Bottom “an absolute disaster” due to the prevalence of firearms.

Among the strategies RPD has tried to keep violence under control in the area is Operation Safe Summer, which since 2023 has surged officers to the neighborhood as well as other crime hotspots in the warmer months when more people congregate outside.

Last year, Chief Rick Edwards said the department was exploring the idea of whether it could legally and practically designate Shockoe Bottom an entertainment district that might allow the city to restrict guns there.

However, at an annual crime briefing this January, Edwards told reporters that “I don’t see that happening right now.”

“It’s something that we explored,” he said. “It's something that I think could benefit [us]. But I'll tell you, we had a better year in Shockoe Bottom this year, towards the end of the year. So we think we're coming up with strategies to mitigate that. I would love to see it, but I don't see that in the offerings this year.”

The department asks anyone with information about Friday’s shooting to call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000, or use the smartphone app.