RICHMOND, Va. — A 16-year-old Richmond boy was arrested Friday in Chesterfield in connection to the Thursday night shooting of a Richmond Police Officer, Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards later confirmed the arrest and indicated the teenager faced four charges, three of which were felonies, including malicious wounding of an officer.
The officer who was shot suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
WATCH: Police chief says Richmond officer ‘doing really well’ after being shot in hand: 'He’s in good spirits'
"Last night, I got a call I’ve been dreading since taking on this role," Edwards said Friday afternoon. "I met with [the injured officer] and his family. He’s in good spirits. I think he is thankful this is not much worse. He’s all things considered doing really well."
The 16-year-old charged in the shooting was a passenger in a car that ran a stop sign Thursday night on Fairfield Avenue, police said.
“Officers had asked him to step out of the car, there was a struggle, and a firearm was discharged," Edwards said. "A firearm was recovered from the scene as well. We’re in the infancy of this investigation. There’s a lot of forensic evidence we’ll be reviewing, as well as video."
Edwards said the teen had an active warrant out before the shooting.
"It’s definitely frustrating to know this individual was out on our streets armed with a weapon," Edwards said. "There are just too many guns in our community right now, and they’re too easily accessible to people who shouldn’t have them, including juveniles."
The Richmond Police Officer did not return fire, police said.
While the teen suspect ran from the scene after the shooting, two other people in the car stayed and are not facing criminal charges.
The suspect ended up turning himself into Chesterfield County Police about 12 hours after the shooting.
CBS 6 legal expert Todd Stone says prosecutors will rely heavily on video evidence to determine their next move. He also says charges could be upgraded depending on what the officer's body-worn camera shows.
"Officers have body-worn cameras all the time and you'd expect it to be on that video which makes it a much stronger case."
Anyone with information was asked to call 911 or Major Crimes Detective M. Gouldman at 804-646-3915 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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