‘Enough is enough’: Mayor Stoney calls for action after 2-year-old girl shot in Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - The Richmond Police Department is investigating a shooting in the city’s east end, in which a 2-year-old girl was wounded.

“Thank god she is going to be OK,” Mayor Levar Stoney said in a press conference Wednesday.

Officers were called to the 2300 block of Ambrose Street in Whitcomb Court around 2:11 a.m. Wednesday for the report of a person shot.

Police found the girl inside with a gunshot wound to the arm. Police later learned the girl was outside with her family when she was shot.

Detectives don’t believe she was the intended target.

“I don’t have to tell anyone here that this is completely unacceptable. Completely unacceptable,” Stoney said.

Stoney was visibly upset during a COVID-19 press conference and took time to address the violence.

“It does affect me personally. What sense does it make that a 2- or 3-year-old or a 5-year-old was shot?” Stoney said.

This 2-year-old girl joins a growing list of children shot in Richmond.

In July, a 3-year-old and 6-year-old were shot and wounded, and a 15-year-old was killed. All three shootings happened on the same night.

“The last thing a child should have to worry about is being home and a bullet can come flying through a wall or window,” Stoney said.

“Personally, I’m getting sick and tired that when something goes down in the city of Richmond - you hear about shootings over and over and over again,” JJ Minor said.

Richmond NAACP president JJ Minor said his team is working to make the streets safer.

“For someone to shoot a 2-year-old is a coward move at that. You’re just picking up a gun and just shooting - it’s absolutely ludicrous and ridiculous,” Minor said.

“I want the family involved to know that we are going to do everything that we can do to find who did this,” Stoney said.

Police are looking for a four-door, dark-colored Nissan sedan, possibly a Maxima, seen leaving the area after the shooting.

Anyone with information can share it anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 804 780-1000 or using the P3 smartphone app.

Copyright 2020 WWBT. All rights reserved.

Submit a news tip.