RICHMOND, Va. – Friends are remembering a father of four shot who was an innocent bystander when he was shot and killed on his way home from work this weekend.
Victor A. Harris, 57, was described by those who knew him best as a hard-working, good-hearted man.
For 30 years, Harris would walk through the door at Dunn’s Barbecue and start his work day.
Victor Harris
“He usually comes in around 3 p.m. When it got to 3 today, I looked up at the clock and thought for just a minute I thought about it…” Harris’ boss Stuart Martin said before breaking down. “I guess talking to him. I wish he was here.”
After dancing in the parking lot and walking his co-workers to the car late Saturday night, Harris set off on his bike to head home.
“There's a void that can't be filled," said one co-worker.
But Harris wouldn’t make it home. The 57-year-old was shot in the head as he turned the corner off Pollock onto 5th avenue.
He was a hundred yards from his front door.
“It hurt me real bad that this happened to Vic," she added.
Crime insider sources tell Jon Burkett that neither Harris nor the 9-year-old girl shot in the hip during a storm of bullets were the intended targets.
They were just out when Crime Insider sources say trigger happy suspects had a gun fight.
"It's sad that these things happen and there’s no answer for them," added another co-worker.
Harris was loved by every co-worker CBS 6 spoke with. They say he never met a stranger and always looked for ways to give back.
Stuart Martin
"Victor was old school. Victor knew how to work," said Martin.
Martin said Harris was a man who never looked for a handout.
He said throughout the years he replaced Victor's bike that he rode to work several times. Each time he said Harris would pay back that money weekly and would keep good records to make sure he never shorted anyone.
"His heart was real big. He cared about people," said Martin.
Police said the suspects in the shooting are still on the loose. Investigators said three male suspects were seen running toward a small dark-colored sedan parked in the 3300 block of 4th Avenue just after the shooting.
"The victims are not related and, at this time, detectives have not linked this incident to any other shootings in the city," Koury Wilson, a Richmond Police spokesperson, said. "However, it is believed the shooting may be related to a fight which occurred earlier in the day between two teenagers in the 3200 block of 5th Avenue."
Anyone with information that could help police should call Major Crimes Detectives J. Bridges 804-646-4494. They may also contact Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000 or at http://www.7801000.com.
