RICHMOND, Va. -- Police have not yet released the names of the woman and man killed near a Richmond playground Sunday night. Investigators were called to the 700 block of North 35th Street, near Bill Robinson Park in the East End, at about 11:09 p.m. when neighbors heard gunfire.
"Officers arrived and found a female and a male in an alley behind a row of homes suffering from apparent gunshot wounds," a Richmond Police spokesman said. "The female was dead at the scene. The male was transported to a local hospital but died shortly after arrival."
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham, who arrived at the crime scene at North 35th and M streets, said it was too early to know what lead up to the fatal shooting.
"We have no leads. We don’t know what happened at this time," Chief Durham said. "I’ve spoken to a couple citizens and they just heard the gunshots. It's a very quiet neighborhood. They are not used to this and unfortunately we are starting to see an increase of guns being used in assaults."
The Medical Examiner will determine cause and manner of death.
Anyone with information was asked to call Richmond Police Major Crimes Detective Ed Aeschlimann at 804-646-3351 or 804-839-0959 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
