RICHMOND, Va. — A 14-year-old boy shot on the Southside Monday night will survive, but he will carry lifelong scars, according to Richmond Councilman Mike Jones.
Richmond Police said the shooting happened in the 4100 Block of Kinsely Avenue at about 8:30 p.m.
Crime Insider sources tell CBS 6's Jon Burkett that there was a fight, and then the 14-year-old was shot in the chest while riding a bike. A family member drove the teenager to the hospital to be treated for life-threatening injuries.
The shooting is something that Richmond Councilman Mike Jones said is unacceptable.
“What bothers me, these weren’t thugs. These aren’t bad kids,” he said. “He’s going to live with this, but he has no choice but to live with. So, what are we going to do?”
Jones visited the victim’s family at the hospital to pray, and listen to the boy’s mother and father while they grieved.
“Grandma was there. The family was there. But, who from the schools is reaching out? Who from the city is reaching out? That’s why I stayed out,” Jones stated.
Richmond Police said that significant evidence was collected at the scene of the shooting, and they are working on a few leads at this time.
This is the second teenager shot within four days in Jones’s 9th district.
A Huguenot High School student was shot walking to their school bus stop on McDowell Road in South Richmond Friday morning. Richmond Police said the 17-year-old student was walking to their bus stop around 8 a.m. when they were shot.
Jones called on city leaders to enact change to stop these teenage shootings.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said the shooter will be found and held accountable. He released the following statement:
"Our children deserve to live in safe communities which allow them to simply be kids, and the recent trail of gun violence in and around our city impacting our youth, as well as our adult residents, is flat out unacceptable.
To whomever did this: we will find you and you will be held accountable.
We will not waver in our efforts to use all available resources to reduce gun violence, remaining tough on crime and tough on the root causes of crime.
And I ask every Richmond resident, young and old, to share in the responsibility we all have to keep our community safe. If you see something, say something."
Anyone with information is asked to call Major Crimes or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. The P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smartphones also may be used. Both Crime Stoppers reporting methods are anonymous.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
