(RICHMOND, Va.) — Officers arrested three men Wednesday evening in connection with a shooting outside an apartment complex in Richmond, Virginia, that left a mother and her 3-month-old baby dead and three other women wounded, police said.
The Richmond Police Department said its officers were dispatched to the 4000 block of Midlothian Turnpike just after 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday where they discovered two women, two teenagers and a baby with gunshot wounds. One of the adults, Sharnez Hill, 30, the mother of the baby, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to officers.
The four other victims were transported to a hospital, however, the unidentified 3-month-old succumbed to her injuries, police said.
“The three other female victims have injuries that are not believed to be life threatening,” Richmond police said in a statement Wednesday evening.
Three men were arrested Wednesday in connection with the shooting, police said.
Donald Hemmings, 22; Shyheem Martin, 23; and Shamondrick Perry, 19, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Additional charges are pending, police said.
Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith described the scene where shots were fired as a quad surrounded by multiple apartment buildings, across the street from a high school, in the city’s Southside area. Investigators believe the shooter was targeting an apartment unit rather than a person.
“It’s just a heinous act that baffles the mind as to why anyone would do this in a quad full of children just out enjoying themselves,” Smith said during a press conference Tuesday night. “They had no regard for the individuals that were out there.”
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney described the victims as “innocent bystanders” who were shot “in a single, senseless act of gun violence.”
“This is a tragedy that no community should have to experience,” Stoney said in a statement Tuesday night. “My heart aches for our families.”
Richmond police said they were trying to determine if other persons were involved in the shootings.
Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Gregory Russell with the Richmond Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit at 804-646-7715 or to contact the Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
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