News

People Injured In Greyhound Station Shooting

by Erin Corbett

Richmond Police and Virginia State Troopers responded to the scene of an active shooter situation at a Virginia Greyhound station in Richmond. The shooting was reported around 2:45 p.m. ET when an individual reportedly opened fire in the bus station. At least three people were reportedly shot, including two State Troopers and a civilian woman. They were transported to VCU Medical Center, and two of the victims are reportedly in critical condition. Update: A Richmond City Councilwoman informed CNN that one Trooper was killed.

Contradictory reports on whether the suspect is currently in police custody or has been killed have been swirling since the shooting. Update: According to CNN, the suspected shooter has died.Police are urging people to stay away from the area of the shooting, but have not confirmed whether there is a motive for the shooting. The station is currently closed, and Greyhound has published a statement on their website stating, "We will re-route customers as [soon as] possible and we will reissue tickets once we resume service if you are supposed to travel to or from Richmond today."

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 17 other shootings in Richmond over the last month, and there has been at least one other shooting at a Greyhound bus station this month in Orlando, Florida. Virginia has seen some terrible acts of gun violence in the last decade, including the massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007, where 32 people were killed, and the on-air shooting of a reporter and her cameraman in August 2015.

KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images

The GVA reported that so far this year, there have already been 12,343 gun-related incidents in the United States and at least 3,141 gun-related deaths, making gun violence a serious public health issue that needs to be addressed immediately. In just a 43-year period, there were at least 1.4 million firearm deaths in the United States, compared to the 1.2 million U.S. deaths from every war the country has fought, from the Revolutionary War to the Iraq War. These numbers alone are telling.

According to the Center for American Progress, one in every 20 victims of mass shootings was killed in Virginia, between 2005 and 2015. Because Virginia is also home to the National Rifle Association, it is an especially important location for gun reform.

Thursday's incidents in Richmond remain under investigation. Geller said, "We're not going to get into any details at this point. As you can imagine, this still is in the early stages of the investigation."