Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards told reporters there are multiple suspected shooters as the investigation is ongoing.
Virginia State Police are searching for multiple suspects after nine people were shot, two of them fatally, in a mass shooting early on February 21st.
Richmond police responded to a shooting in progress in the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood just east of the city’s downtown just after 2:45 a.m., according to dispatch records. Police Chief Rick Edwards told reporters that officers nearby saw a large fight in the street and cars speeding. He added that the firearm appeared to have escalated the brawl, which started as an altercation and then worsened.
“My message is to leave your guns at home,” Edwards said at a news conference, adding that the shooting shows that “nothing will end in tragedy like what we saw this morning.”
Police found Genesis Jones, 23, of Petersburg, and Dominique Jackson, 42, of Henrico County, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene, Edwards said.
Four other people with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds were taken by ambulance to local hospitals. Three more people drove themselves to local hospitals, Edwards said. The seven injured include three men and four women.
Police recovered more than 50 shell casings and two firearms at the scene, Edwards said. Police believe more weapons were used in the shooting.
Edwards said police asked for the public’s assistance in the ongoing investigation. Police Department spokesman James Mercante said no arrests have been made at this time.
Shockoe Bottom is a historic Richmond neighborhood known for its bars and restaurants. Local bars closed by 2 a.m., Edwards said.
Prior to the shooting, Richmond had three homicides in 2026. The two deaths from the shooting are pending a coroner’s determination of the cause and manner of death, according to a police advisory. Edwards said homicides and nonfatal shootings are down in Richmond.
