RICHMOND, Va. — A man was shot multiple times and killed after an argument broke out during his nephew's funeral service in a Richmond cemetery on Wednesday afternoon, Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett.
The shooting was reported at about 2:40 p.m. at Oakwood Cemetery off Nine Mile Road in East Richmond.
"We were able to glean from a family member that their brother was being buried here today," Burkett said during a live report on CBS 6 News at 5 p.m. "His casket was not even in the ground yet when gunfire erupted because of a disagreement between family members."
The man, whom family members identified as the uncle of the man being laid to rest, was taken to an area hospital where he died of his injuries.
SCENE VIDEO: Shooting reported at graveside service in Richmond
Major Crimes detectives were looking for shell casings, and there were at least 20 evidence placards on the ground as of 6 p.m.
"Detectives are actually going through the process right now of calling area hospitals to see if other victims have shown up," Burkett said.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said it was fortunate that more people were not wounded.
"When you have a crowd and gunfire is rained down upon people, we're just lucky that more people haven't shown up at the hospital with wounds," Edwards said. "This is a sad day because this family was burying someone who passed away. It wasn't a violent death, but it was still going through the grieving process that escalated into now another family is going to have to plan a funeral."
WATCH: Casket cannot be buried until crime scene is completed, police chief says
Edwards said what happened Wednesday afternoon on the city's East End was "a new low."
"We've had incidents, homicides at hospitals. We've had them, unfortunately, in schools and obviously, two years ago at a graduation ceremony," Edwards said. "But never that I can remember — I've been here 26 years — have I seen a crime scene while there's still the casket of a body that can't be buried until this crime scene is finished."
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said. No arrest has been made.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Major Crimes Detective K. Hyde at 804-646-3613 or contact Crime Stoppers by calling 804-780-1000 or using the P3 app.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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