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Family member murdered Henrico cousins, Crime Insider says

Posted at 8:03 PM, Dec 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-15 08:28:32-05

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Family members said the two young women killed in a double shooting in eastern Henrico County on Thursday afternoon were cousins.

A gunman shot the pair at about 12:17 p.m. as the girls walked near the Oakmeade Apartment on Airport Drive and East Nine Mile Road in Highland Springs.

One of the victims died at the scene while the other passed away at an area hospital.

Police identified the 18-year-old victims as Vanessa Zaman and Leona Samlall on Friday.

A grieving man, who told reporter Jon Burkett that his niece and daughter were killed, said the family is asking for privacy.

Crime Insider sources and family members confirmed the two are cousins and that the shooting was not a random attack.

Those same sources said that Samlall was briefly on a missing persons list in 2016, but later showed up safe in the Orlando, Florida area.

Those sources said Samlall is believed to have returned home to Henrico fleeing a rocky relationship

Samlall and Zaman were walking along Airport Drive when a man got out of his car and confronted the girls before shooting them in what appeared to be a fit of rage, sources said.

Crime Insider sources said the FBI is involved to help with certain pieces of crucial evidence in the double murder case.

While the gunman has not yet been apprehended, Crime Insider sources a family member is a person of interest in the case.

Varina-area Supervisor Tyrone Nelson said rumors about the shooting being random are false. He said the already terrible situation is not helped when untruths are spread.

“Let the police do their job and report back what is going on. In the meantime, pray for the family,” Nelson said. “Things like this happen, I don't care where you are. So let's just relax with the speculation and the sideline quarterbacking... and just wait to hear what happened."

Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for complete coverage of this developing story. Anyone with more information can submit a news tip here.

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