RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said he will no longer talk about an alleged July 4th mass shooting plot, days after prosecutors released information conflicting with Smith's claims that police prevented an attack at Dogwood Dell.
Chief Smith began a Monday morning press conference about crime statistics by addressing the mass shooting plot saying, "We are closing all discussion about the planned Fourth of July mass shooting. The matter is now in the hands of the federal government. As I've often stated, we will follow wherever the investigation leads us."
Smith initially told local and national reporters onJuly 6th during a press conference that officers arrested two men from Guatemala, Rolman Balcarcel-Bavagas and Julio Alvarado-Dubon, after a tipster told police the men were planning to carry out a shooting at a July 4th event.
During that press conference, Smith named Dogwood Dell as the target of the attack, adding that the information came from the tipster. However, on Aug. 3,Smith told reporters Dogwood Dell was actually found to be the target due to the investigative work of officers.
But the Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney's Office could not provide any evidence in court tying the threat to Dogwood Dell. The state then turned over the case to federal prosecutors.
Alvarado-Dubon was charged by the feds with possession of a firearm by a non-U.S. citizen, and Balcarcel-Bavagas was only charged with illegal re-entry into the country.
Hours after prosecutors said they couldn't provide that evidence on Aug. 3, CBS 6 asked Smith to clarify if he stood by Dogwood Dell as the location of the alleged shooting.
"Yes, Let me make sure I’m clear about that," Smith said. "Have I not said that before and said that now?"
Now, on Aug. 8, Smith said Dogwood Dell was "most likely" the target.
"While the tipster did not explicitly say Dogwood Dell as the location, the department, based on all information available at the time, determined Dogwood Dell was most likely the target," Smith said.
During the crime stats briefing, RPD's public information officer asked for all questions to be related to the topic at hand. However, some members of the press, including CBS 6, still asked about the alleged mass shooting plot.
One reporter began asking, "On the Fourth of July-- I know you don't want to talk about that anymore-- but--"
"You're correct. Next question. We ended the discussion," Smith interrupted.
CBS 6 reporter Tyler Layne also asked Smith if he regretted anything he said during the July 6th press conference about the alleged plot.
"I'll say what I said today — is that I'm closing the discussion on it," Smith responded.
Some CBS 6 viewers left online comments reacting to Smith's statement about closing the discussion.
“It's public safety, so the public should know," one person wrote.
"Do public services funded by taxpayer dollars actually get to "close discussions" with said taxpayers just because the questions get hard or the answers are embarrassing," a Richmond resident wrote.
Meanwhile, Chief Smith said he supported RPD's work into the investigation.
"The great work of this department led to the arrest of the suspects and likely saved countless lives. We stand behind the work of the department, and I'm forever grateful to the tipster who was brave enough to alert the department of a planned mass shooting for the Fourth of July," Smith said.
