RICHMOND, Va. -- A 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg on a GRTC bus Thursday afternoon, Richmond Police tell CBS 6.
The shooting occurred on a bus in front of VCU's College of Nursing building at North 11th and Leigh Streets in Richmond. The victim suffered from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his leg.
Richmond Police say the shooting occurred after a physical altercation broke out on the bus.
Police are currently employing drones and a K9 unit in the search for the suspect, who is between the ages of 15 and 20 years old, and is dressed in all black.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards tells CBS 6 that police are concerned since the victim fled from the shooting scene with a weapon that has not been found.
Thursday's shooting marks the third shooting associated with GRTC buses since September 2023. In March, a man was shot and killed at a GRTC bus stop in front of Richmond's City Hall.
"We're lucky today this individual is going to survive," Edwards said. "When people get into disputes these need to be resolved with a fist fight or a verbal argument. It doesn't need to escalate to violence."
Richmond resident John Silver, who relies on the buses, says he sometimes feels uneasy from these incidents.
"People have attitudes and you don't know what they might come up with," Silver said. "People just need to come together."
In a letter to students, VCU wrote that the victim has no affiliation with the school.
VCU evacuated students from the nursing building one by one and reopened the area an hour after the shooting.
GRTC released the following statement regarding the shooting:
GRTC condemns the incident of violence that occurred on board a Route 5 bus earlier this evening. We are working closely with law enforcement and refer questions about the incident to the Richmond Police Department. To support the investigation, bus 2313 has been taken out of service, and customers should expect some residual travel impacts along the route.
If you were on the bus, or near the scene at the time of the shooting, Richmond Police asks you to give them a call.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
