Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - The Richmond Police Department urged residents to avoid the Belle Isle area on Sunday after receiving a report of a person shot.
Police are searching for a man who shot a park ranger in the chest on Belle Isle at about 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19. Residents are still urged to avoid the area.
Officers said they arrived on scene and found an Urban Park Ranger who informed them that he had interacted with a man in a wooded area of the park. When he offered him services for shelter, he produced a firearm and shot the ranger.
The gunfire reportedly hit the ranger in his bulletproof vest, and he suffered only minor injuries. The ranger met with a detective following the incident and was checked out at a nearby hospital.
"When [officers] arrived on scene, they encountered an urban park ranger who indicated that he was interacting with an individual in a wooded area in the park, offering him services for shelter when, suddenly, the male produced a firearm and shot him in the chest or in the torso area," Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said in a Sunday evening press conference. "Luckily, the ranger was wearing a bulletproof vest, and he sustained what are considered minor injuries, bruising essentially."
Richmond Police say the person of interest is a Black man, believed to be in his late 30s. He is approximately 5 foot 11 inches with a short patchy beard and short unkempt hair. He was wearing a black winter coat and dirty clothing.
"We've had our SWAT operators searching the island for the perpetrator. We've utilized UAVs (drones). We have a bloodhound and other canines searching the island," Edwards said.
Police are asking people to avoid the area while the search continues. Anyone with information is urged to call 911.
