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‘It was real scary,’ witness says suspect shot victim inside vehicle during carjacking Monday

Posted at 10:33 PM, Nov 19, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-19 23:12:06-05

RICHMOND, Va. -- Witness Kimberly Williams confirmed the first shot in Monday’s violent carjacking and attempted robbery was fired inside the SUV.

It was followed by a hail of bullets from police.

By Thursday night, the suspect shot by police, Frank Elmo Reid, was charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.  CBS 6 found out the crimes he's accused of are similar to ones in his violent past.

"The guy was on flats(tires) and screaming, ‘Help me! Help me! Please, someone help me!’ Screaming at the top of his lungs,” Williams said Thursday.  "It was real scary."

Williams says she not only feared for the safety of her great grandson, whom she was picking up at the bus stop Monday afternoon, but also the hostage who was begging for help as the SUV limped up Fairmont Avenue towards 25th and R Streets.

"The first flash came from inside the car. Then you could see police firing from the outside," she said.

Kimberly Williams

The victim, Russell Turner, along with Reid were rushed to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Reid’s roommate for the last year at a Williamsburg Road home says he was stunned to hear what Reid is accused of. "I lived with the guy," he said, asking his name not be made public. "I never expected Frank to pull a stunt like this. I really didn't see it coming. Frank was working at Tyson’s, just got benefits and a good raise."

Reid’s criminal record shows he spent a lot of time in the prison system.

He was convicted of a violent robbery at 20 years old, and did 16 years of hard time at some of the most secure prisons in the Virginia Department of Corrections system.

Frank Reid Mugshot

Frank Elmo Reid

He got out in July, 2014.

"He was transferred numerous times from maximum to maximum security prison, then just released,” said CBS 6 legal expert Todd Stone. “The public shouldn't be too surprised. There's frustration and anger over it sure, but it's proof there should be a better way."

Williams agrees, saying it seems like Reid wasn’t ready to get out. "The people working in probation should understand when a mind sits idle it serves as the devil’s workshop,” she said.

Reid and Turner were last listed in critical, but stable condition at the hospital.

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