Huguenot High School’s graduation erupted into chaos last year when a graduating student and his stepfather were shot and killed outside Altria Theater shortly after the ceremony on June 6, 2023.
The Richmond City School Board authorized a third-party investigation of the circumstances leading up to the shooting, and then the next month voted 6-2 to withhold the report from the public. In response to public records requests, the board cited an attorney-client privilege exemption in Virginia public records law.
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Ashley Pollard, mother of Amari Pollard, wipes away a tear during an interview about her eldest son, who was sentenced to 43 years in prison with 18 years suspended after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Huguenot High School graduate Shawn Jackson on June 6, 2023.
But the Richmond Times-Dispatch filed a lawsuit against the Richmond School Board asking the court to order the School Board to produce a copy of the report to the newspaper. WTVR-TV and transparency activist Joshua Stanfield joined the lawsuit to force the board to release the results of the outside investigation.
The Diamond, home to professional baseball in Richmond since 1985, heads into its final season in 2025.
Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant said the exemption that the School Board used to justify not releasing the report in response to public records requests mostly did not apply to the 32-page report. He ordered the board to release the report.
The report found Huguenot High School staff knew of threats against Shawn Jackson, the student who was fatally shot, and the school did not initiate a threat assessment as school system policy requires in such circumstances.
The report also found Jackson participated in the ceremony without the school principal’s authorization and without consideration of safety concerns that were known by several school staff members.
Police respond to the area around Monroe Park following the fatal shooting after Huguenot High School’s graduation ceremony on June 6, 2023.
Weeks after the release of the report, Amari Pollard, Jackson’s former classmate, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a sentence of 43 years in prison with 18 years suspended.
The killer of Jackson’s stepfather, Renzo Smith, remains unidentified. Ballistics evidence ruled out Pollard as his killer. A forensic examiner found at least 30 bullet cartridge casings, most of which were not fired from Pollard’s gun.
A decision issued by Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant ruling that the Richmond Public School Board must release most of the Sands Anderson report investigating the Huguenot High School Shooting.
Jackson’s mother, Tameeka Jackson-Smith, gave an emotional testimony on the opening day of the trial, saying that she watched her husband and only son die in a matter of minutes.
One year after the shooting, in June, The Times-Dispatch spoke with Jackson-Smith, who said she was still searching for answers — who shot and killed her husband, and who struck her 9-year-old daughter with their car during the chaos outside the graduation ceremony?
Police respond to shooting near Altria Theater
Interim Chief Edwards, Mayor Stoney and Superintendent Kamras speak following shooting outside Altria Theater
GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrats clashed on social media after she made comments in the wake of a shooting following a Richmond graduation ceremony.
Officials reacted Tuesday to a shooting in Richmond following a high school graduation ceremony:
The shooting left two dead and five more injured, one with life-threatening conditions.
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Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras didn’t know Shawn Jackson well, he said in a joint press briefing with Mayor Levar Stoney and Acting Police Chief Rick Edwards Wednesday morning at Richmond Police Department headquarters on Grace Street.
Huguenot High School graduation before the shooting.
Graduation had ended, and the nearly 300 students exited the theater onto the street. Then Fabiola Chesnut heard about 10 gunshots in rapid succession.
Demonstrators gathered and were joined by Second District Council Member Katherine Jordan in front of the Virginia state Capitol following the…
In a new statement Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears says “the one that pulled the trigger is ultimately responsible for his heinous actions.”
A day set aside for pomp and circumstance ended with two dead, a woman mourning her husband and her son, and a public outcry against gun violence.
18-year-old Shawn Jackson struggled in school, said Huguenot High School Principal Robert Gilstrap. But despite that, he graduated Tuesday afternoon.
“Please know that you are not alone and that there are so many people here for you.”
Seven people were shot — two fatally — Tuesday evening outside the Altria Theater in Richmond, following Huguenot High School’s graduation ceremony. Here’s what we know right now.
Four days after a deadly shooting took place at the Altria Theater, performances are still planned at the theater for this weekend.
Henrico County Public Schools continue to hold graduation ceremonies after the shooting tragedy at Altria Theatre. Families at Thursday’s Highland Springs ceremony said they were determined to enjoy the day.
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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., included a ban on assault rifles – as well as gun safety measures that Virginia already adopted – in a broader new legislative package.
Richmond students and families are experiencing a myriad of emotions.
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“You can feel it on campus. Morale is pretty low.”
HomeGoing services for Renzo Smith and Shawn Jackson will take place at noon on Thursday, June 15, at Speaking Spirit Ministries in Richmond.
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An outpouring of grief, compassion and love spread throughout the homegoing ceremony of Huguenot High School graduate Shawn Jackson and his stepfather, Army Specialist Renzo Smith.
Funeral services were held Thursday for the Huguenot High School graduate and his stepfather
The man who police say opened fire in Monroe Park following a high school graduation ceremony appeared in court again Wednesday morning.
Rick Edwards, the interim Richmond police said, a press conference about this month’s shooting in Monroe Park that left two dead was canceled …
The Richmond Police Department announced Thursday it would hold a news conference the next day to update the public about the Huguenot High Sc…
Richmond Public Schools administration seeks to boost partnership with police. It also proposes a new 15-part safety plan with a pilot program that would require some students to lock up their cellphones in pouches during the school day.
The Richmond City School Board voted Monday night to authorize a third-party investigation of the circumstances leading up to the June 6 shooting death of an 18-year-old graduating student and his father outside of the Altria Theater after the Huguenot High School graduation.
Students and teachers at Huguenot High School were greeted by the Richmond community Friday, more than two months after June’s graduation shooting.
The Richmond School Board on Monday night rejected a proposal to release an external investigation into the June 6 shooting death of an 18-year-old graduating student and his father outside of the Altria Theater after Huguenot High School’s graduation ceremony.
Richmond Public Schools previously denied the newspaper’s public records request for the report, saying that it is subject to the attorney-client privilege exemption laid out in Virginia’s public record laws.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch sued the school board to force it to release the results of an investigation that it paid a law firm to conduct over the June 6 shooting outside the theater following the Huguenot High School graduation ceremony.
The Richmond School Board must release the investigation it commissioned into last summer’s shooting outside the Altria Theater, a judge ruled on Tuesday afternoon.
Richmond School Board Member Jonathan Young speaks about the newly released report on the Huguenot High School graduation shooting on Wednesda…
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In June 2022 Shawn Jackson’s mother emailed school officials, including RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras, that “we are still homeless from our home being shot up by students in Huguenot.”
The report released today by Richmond Public Schools contains a number of previously unknown details about Huguenot High School’s 2023 graduation shooting.
It is not yet clear whether there will be personnel changes in lower-level positions.
“When I heard the first gunshot, my only reaction was to tell my wife to get on the ground.”
Amari Pollard, 20, is the only suspect in the shooting at Huguenot High School’s graduation last summer, where two people were killed and five others were injured. Pollard is charged with first-degree murder in connection with Shawn Jackson’s death, and a separate felony offense for using a firearm. Pollard and Jackson had an “ongoing dispute,” but police have never explained why only Pollard has been charged despite the number of victims. The trial is set to last five days, with a verdict expected on March 1.
The trial against the suspect in the Huguenot graduation shooting last summer outside the Altria Theater started Monday.
The defendant in the Huguenot graduation shooting asked for protection from police, citing fear for his safety. Body-worn camera footage shows his frantic surrender to law enforcement.
Amari Pollard, charged with first-degree murder in the Huguenot graduation shooting, admitted to killing someone during a taped interview with police, authorities said.
Amari Pollard, 20, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting at Huguenot High School graduation. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison, with 18 years suspended.
Officials on Thursday released a video prepared by the FBI showing the moments before and after the shooting outside the Altria Theater in June.
Officials on Thursday released a video prepared by the FBI showing the moments before and after the shooting outside the Altria Theater in Jun…
This footage was released on Thursday, after Amari Pollard pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Huguenot graduation shooting
Veteran Richmond-area defense attorney Jerry Zerkin said the decision by Amari Pollard’s defense to take a plea deal Thursday afternoon is really not surprising.
In his 20-plus years as an officer, Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards has seen his share of heartbreak.
“It’s just not something I can second-guess — there’s nothing in this case that screams out innocence,” Marchant said.
The mother and wife of two Huguenot High School graduation shooting victims filed two federal lawsuits on Saturday seeking a total of $26 million in damages from Richmond Public Schools.
Denise Smith said she watched Amari Pollard point a gun at his head and pull the trigger. But it didn’t go off. The clicking sound is seared into her mind.
