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Weekend violence worries South Richmond residents

Posted at 6:50 PM, Jun 02, 2013
and last updated 2013-06-03 00:14:53-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) -- Neighbors in South Richmond are on edge after a violent weekend where two people were found shot inside a vehicle and a man was found shot dead in the street.

Police said the first call came in around 10 p.m. on Saturday. That's when they found a car with a 26-year-old man and  21-year-old woman suffering from gunshot wounds near the intersection of Commerce Road and Bruce Street. Both were taken to the hospital.

Police were also dispatched to West 14th Street, between Bainbridge and Hull streets, around 5 a.m. That's where they found a 24-year-old man shot dead.

Flowers left on the sidewalk Sunday evening mark the spot where Roosevelt Byrd, of East 31st Street, died.

Officers said they are looking for a dark collared, full-size SUV that was reportedly fleeing from the scene.

This latest violence is a blow to the Manchester community -- a community that has been trying to grow develop in recent years.

“It’s a terrible thing because this is a really nice growing neighborhood we are doing some great things over here on Hull Street,” said Frank Pitchford, who owns Send A Chef Restaurant. “That's why I decided to bring my business back to Hull Street."

While Pitchford opened his business here earlier this year, most storefronts remain boarded up.

"We just had this incident this week and we had this incident about two months ago where a kid got shot and killed at 13th and Decator," said Pitchford.

Tyrell Johnson, one of the thousands of people who live or work in South Richmond, said the area is changing.

"For me personally, I think it's becoming too much crime,” said Johnson. “People dying for no reason, people getting shot at for no reason [and] I just stay out the way.”

If you have information that could help police, call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000 or text Crime Stoppers at 274637.

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