RICHMOND, Va. -- Kellisha Cox was overfilled with joy on June 6. It was the day her son received his diploma from Richmond's Huguenot High School.
“I was ecstatic," Cox said. It was an amazing day. My son worked real hard."
Surrounded by family who traveled hours to be there, Cox was recorded giving her son a hug as he exited the Altria Theater where the ceremony just ended.
That was the only image she'd get with her son on his Graduation Day.
She was about to take pictures when gunshots rang out.
“And then everybody just started going panic mode," Cox said.
She said she turned around to run but was knocked down.
“I was laying there on the ground, and I looked back, and all I saw was people coming. I’m being stepped on, my head, my back, everything. I said, 'I gotta get up.' I’m talking to myself in my mind. I have to get up, because these people are going to kill me. That’s all I kept thinking. I’m going to die right here today," Cox said.
Cox said she went to a hospital for treatment the day after the shooting and was told she suffered "trauma consistent with a serious car accident." She continues to see her doctor for checkups and remains in physical pain to this day.
“My knee was busted open. I was pouring blood," she said.
Cox said she pushed through the pain, adrenaline rushing, to get back up and find her family.
She was able to locate them, and thankfully they were safe.
But what she witnessed in the chaos, she said, was horrifying.
“I seen so many elderly people, people 70, 80-year-old grandparents, trampled laying on the ground. Those images will forever be stuck in my mind. People holding babies, little babies being knocked down to the ground, as they're trying to protect their children," Cox said.
She added, "It's multiple victims than what we're hearing."
Richmond Police said two people died in the shooting, Huguenot graduate Shawn Jackson and his stepfather Lorenzo Smith.
Five additional victims were shot and survived. Twelve more people, like Cox, were hurt due to something other than gunshots.
"I want answers," Cox said.
Information released in the investigation has so far been limited.
Richmond Police arrested 19-year-old Amari Pollard. He's charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the killings of Jackson and Smith.
Authorities have not revealed charges related to the shootings of the other five gunshot victims.
Police said they recovered four guns from the scene, but they have only confirmed that one belonged to Pollard and one other gun belonged to someone uninvolved.
That leaves two guns still unaccounted for.
“The public deserves to know everything," Cox said. "I do know a lot of things have to be held because of prosecuting procedures and different things, but we definitely do not deserve to be left in the blind, because you're getting bits and pieces. We want the whole picture."
She added, "Accountability needs to be taken, and we need the truth."
Cox said knowing what happened, why it happened, and how it happened is a critical part of the healing process for those impacted.
"We as the people, when I say 'we' I'm speaking for everyone who was out there that was affected, have to live through this," she said. “Every time my son looks at his diploma, every time he looks at his cap and gown hanging in his closet, he's going to think about that traumatic incident that happened on that day, all of the joy that was taken away from what was supposed to be his special day. Him and all the other graduates of Huguenot High School have to deal with that every day. They're going to think about that for the rest of their lives.”
In Richmond Police's latest statement, department spokesperson Tracy Walker acknowledged that the department is limited in what it can share "due to the ongoing criminal investigation."
"Our goal is to establish the facts of what took place and deliver a solid case to the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for prosecution. Any new information that can be shared will be provided as available as the department balances the need for public safety and the upcoming criminal proceedings," Walker said.
She added investigators are still processing tips, reviewing videos, analyzing material, and interviewing witnesses.
The public can submit tips here.
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
