HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A vigil was held to honor 16-year-old Jamirah Washington one week after she was killed in a shooting at the White Oak Village shopping center in eastern Henrico County.
Those who knew and loved Jamirah, who often went by the nickname "Moo Moo," gathered at John Marshall High School to remember the life and light they said she radiated.
"My point is anybody who knew Jamirah knew that she was destined to be a great person," one woman said. "How many more great people are we gonna take before we get it? Let's stop the violence. If you have to, let's throw those dukes up. Do a one-on-one. At least live to talk about it tomorrow. Let's stop the senseless killing, you guys. We're all one."
Mike Richards said his 16-year-old daughter was on track to graduate high school early.
“That I will never know. It’s a mystery to say what she really wanted because she was taken away from us too early, too soon,” Richards said last week.
“If y’all guys watching that did this, I have to find in my heart to say I forgive y’all, I forgive y’all... You were wrong!” Karen Richards, Jamirah’s paternal grandmother, previously said. “Young boys, put them guns down. Y’all don’t know what to do with them. Y’all taking our families away!”
A man was also hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries after dispatchers received 911 calls about a shooting at the shopping center around 5:30 pm. last Saturday.
RELATED: Henrico teen killed at shopping center: 'She was innocent'
Police chief: Girl killed was 'innocent bystander;' 3 teens arrested
Henrico Police Chief Eric English said in a news briefing Wednesday Jamirah was an "innocent bystander" and that there was no evidence to indicate the shooting was gang-related.
"It's very disturbing when you have young people that just feel comfortable walking around with firearms, and using them in a way that causes harm not just to individuals, but you know, you're destroying families," English said. "There are people out there that knew they had weapons on them."
Officials said a juvenile, which Crime Insider sources said is a 15-year-old boy, was charged with shooting into an occupied building; felony murder; possession of a firearm while under the age of 18; use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Eighteen-year-old Jihad Ruffin was also charged with use of a firearm in the commission of a felony; felony murder; shooting into an occupied dwelling and 18-year-old Trevon Chappelle was charged with shooting into an occupied building.
The police chief urged the community to stay alert and to call police if they see anything suspicious.
"The bottom line is that we have to make sure that everyone is being vigilant, you know, as I always say, you know, we all play a role in keeping our communities safe," English said. "You never know what you may stop from happening if you don't call."
English also said the investigation into the White Oak shopping center shooting is far from over.
"Although we've made arrests, there's still a lot of a lot of things to do in terms of really solidifying that that case," English added.
Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call Detective Ensor at 804-501-5794 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
