RICHMOND, Va. — City of Richmond Urban Park Rangers are not authorized to be armed and are in the process of getting ballistic vests, according to James Mercante, the Director of Public Affairs for the Richmond Police Department.
Detectives with the Richmond Police Department continue to investigate a reported shooting of an Urban Park Ranger on Belle Isle Sunday afternoon.
The ranger said he was in a wooded area of the park offering a man information about a homeless shelter a little before 2 p.m. when the man shot him in the torso, according to Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards.
WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE: Richmond Police update shooting on Belle Isle (Sunday, Jan. 19)
“The male asked him to help him get up off the ground. As that was happening, the victim reported the male immediately produced a firearm, said nothing, shot one time, and then fled in a SE direction on the island,” Edwards said.
Edwards said the ranger was “luckily" wearing a bulletproof vest and only sustained minor injuries.
Police said they completed their search for the suspect Sunday night but did not locate them.
If anyone sees a suspicious person, police are asking them to call 911.
Mercante said that “earlier this month the Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities began the process of updating their policies and procedures to include the addition of ballistic vests for Urban Park Rangers.”
He added that the two staff members who are a part of the Urban Park Ranger program got fitted for the vests last week, and “the procurement process is underway.”
"The Urban Park Ranger involved in this incident has a high level of training and experience and was wearing his own ballistic vest yesterday,” Mercante said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Major Crimes Detective S. Brown at (804) 646-6456 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. The P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smartphones also may be used. All Crime Stoppers reporting methods are anonymous.
This is a developing story. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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