EdNews Virginia | June 7, 2023
Richmond Public Schools (RPS) and its various offices are closed today following last night’s shooting outside a graduation ceremony. In addition, all graduation ceremonies through Friday are now canceled. “RPS offers its deepest condolences to the victims and families of yesterday’s shooting, and to all who are impacted by the events that took place,” the district wrote in a statement published to its website.
“I don’t have any more words on this,” RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras said last night. “I’m just tired of seeing people get shot, our kids get shot. And I beg of the entire community to stop.”
Governor Glenn Youngkin offered his condolences in a tweet sent last night. “As we struggle to fully comprehend this tragedy, our hearts break for those whose lives were lost today,” Youngkin wrote.
In a live television interview last night, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears passionately called for a restoration of effective law enforcement to end the violence in Richmond and elsewhere. “This does have to stop — and we know where it starts,” Sears said.
READ THE FULL STATEMENT FROM RPS:
RPS offers its deepest condolences to the victims and families of yesterday’s shooting, and to all who are impacted by the events that took place.
RPS schools and offices are closed today, Wednesday, June 7. All high school graduations this week have also been canceled. RPS will share further updates soon about rescheduling commencement ceremonies.
If you or your child needs to speak to a counselor, please call the ChildSavers Immediate Response Helpline at (804) 305-2420, the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority at (804) 819-4100, or Challenge Discovery Projects at (804) 643-0002.
Additionally, the RBHA Mobile Crisis Unit along with other partners will serve as a support to RPS families and staff. Mental Health Support and Counseling services will be available today from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm at the Huguenot Community Center located at 7945 Forest Hill Ave., Richmond Va. 23225.
The Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (DPRCF) will have community locations open as safe spaces for community members to gather and will be serving food from 12noon to 1:30 PM at the following sites:
- Bellemeade Community Center, 1800 Lynhaven Avenue
- Hotchkiss Community Center, 701 East Brookland Park Blvd
- Randolph Community Center, 1415 Grayland Avenue
- Southside Community Center, 6255 Old Warwick Road
The following DPRCF pools will be open today from 12 noon to 5pm:
- Bellemeade, 1800 Lynhaven Avenue
- Battery Park, 2719 Dupont Circle
- Blackwell, 238 East 14th Street
- Fairmont, 2000 U Street
- Powhatan, 1000 Apperson Street
- Randolph, 1507 Grayland Avenue
- Swansboro, 3160 Midlothian Turnpike
RPS will continue to share updates through Remind messages and the RPS website.
UPDATE (06/08/23): On Wednesday evening, RPS announced that schools will be closed for the remainder of this academic year; graduations have been rescheduled with additional security measures. See RVASchools.net for all the latest details.