High school teen killed in Henrico overnight shooting
HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - Police are investigating a shooting involving a juvenile Saturday morning.
Officers were called to the 1900 block of Glenwilton Drive just after midnight for reports of a shooting.
Emergency dispatchers were informed that one person had been shot outside and the shooter fled the area. 9-year-old Jaida Taylor and her 10-year-old cousin Nyasia Barret say they woke up to the sound of gunshots shortly after midnight Saturday and saw the victim lying in their front yard where they normally play outside.
“I heard two gunshots,’ Jaida said.
“We both popped up and we went to the window and we saw the boy laying on the ground,” Nyasia said. “It’s really hard to go outside and look at the same spot every day just to know that one of their friends got shot and killed right there.”
The two young cousins say their older siblings knew the teen.
“My mind is just blown because I know if it was my family I would have been sad,” Jaida said. “We looked out the window and we saw her crying and yelling and the police were holding her back from going over there.”
According to police, emergency crews provided aid before transporting the teen to the VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries where he later died from his injuries.
Henrico police are now investigating this incident as a homicide.
Police have identified the teen and notified the next of kin. Due to his age, his identity is being withheld from the public, but a spokesperson from the Henrico County School Division has confirmed that a student from Highland Springs High School was killed.
At the home of the student nearby the scene of the investigation, flowers and balloons with the school’s name could be seen on the front porch.
“The untimely loss of one of its students is devastating and our school division is joining the high school in mourning and remembrance for the teen,” a spokesperson for the school division told NBC12.
The school division also says that mental health resources would be made available to any students who need them.
“I literally was shaking last night even though it was not anyone of my family members and I was getting ready to cry because of how hard that lady was yelling and crying,” Jaida said. “It just made my heart break.”
“All I can say is that whatever happened, rest in peace for his soul and I hope his mother is OK,” Nyasia said.
Anyone with information can call Detective Ensor at 804-501-5794 or Crime Stoppers at 804-501-5000.
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