RICHMOND, Va. -- A community advocate believes an "argument or some type of misunderstanding" sparked a shooting that left a 16-year-old boy dead and two women wounded at a Richmond apartment complex Saturday night.
“More people are hurting this morning because of a senseless, perhaps argument or some type of misunderstanding, lives have been changed forever as of last night," said Cruz Sherman, a community activist who's spoken to CBS 6 in the past about violence at the Belt Atlantic Apartments..
Sherman was called to the scene after the shooting.
"One of the family members showed me a video of him, just hours before he was gunned down, of him riding his bike. Not a care in the world," Sherman said. "And just think, a couple hours later, that he would be murdered."
SCENE VIDEO: 1 killed, 2 injured at Belt Atlantic Apartments
Officers were called to the Belt Atlantic Apartments in the 4000 block of Midlothian Turnpike on the Southside just after 10:10 p.m., according to Capt. Frank Scarpa with Richmond Police.
When police arrived, they found three victims. A 16-year-old boy died of his injuries at the scene while while two women were taken to an area hospital, according to police.
One of the women has life-threatening injuries, Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett.
Officers said an "altercation happened between individuals" happened before the shooting.
"Major Crimes is investigating," Scarpa said.
No suspect information was available at last check.
A person at the apartment complex said Sunday that one of the women was shot in the back by stray gunfire. She heard the commotion and went to see what was happening, according to that person.
Sherman said community activists and church groups have been working with residents to curb community violence.
“Everybody thinks that Belt Atlantic is this horrible place, but it had been a while since we’d been to Belt Atlantic, due to the work of community and other activists. You can’t control the emotions of other people," he said. "There were other innocent people that were hit. And so how much longer do we have to continue to be faced with these incidents?”
If you have information that could help detectives, call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000 or submit a tip online at https://rvacrimestoppers.org. The P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smartphones may also be used. All three Crime Stoppers methods of contact are anonymous.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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