RICHMOND, Va. -- Keith Turner was shot and killed Thursday evening outside an East End convenience store along the 1800 block of T Street, near Mechanicsville Turnpike and Mosby Street, in Richmond.
Turner, 66, lived about three blocks from where he died.
"It's crazy that every time I see him, he was smiling and telling a joke and now I ain't gonna see this dude no more," a man who said he knew the victim told Jon Burkett. "It's kind of been messing with my head."
Turner was remembered as a grandfather known for his kind smile and ability to always strike up a conversation.
"I don't know what the situation was or whatever went on but he lived his own life and I knew him to be a great person," the man, who asked to not be identified, said. "I'm sorry he's gone and I wish there would've been a better way to solve their differences."
Turner's death is the 58th homicide of the year in Richmond. That number is slightly ahead of the number of homicides for this time last year.
"People have become so hard and their hearts hardened so, as far as the mental capacity, they don't think they don't process. They just execute. We are living in some troubled times where people don't consider who they're affecting," Richmond pastor Valerie Coley said.
While she said she was disappointed that the city has registered more homicides this year than at this same time last year, she said they've had successes in recent weeks pointing to a two-week time frame where there were no shootings in Richmond.
"Some of the stuff had been deescalating because we had people out intervening and making a difference," she said. "I thank God for them."
Anyone with information about Turner's death was asked to call Major Crimes Detective J. Crewell at 804-646-5324 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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