Richmond woman killed by crossfire outside Brunswick County nightclub
Shannon E. Henley
A 22-year-old Richmond woman died after she was struck by a stray bullet from a gunfight between two men outside a nightclub Sunday in Brunswick County, authorities confirmed today.
Shannon E. Henley was pronounced dead at Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center in Emporia not long after the 3 a.m. shooting at Meljos at U.S. 58 and Reedy Creek Road, said Brunswick Sheriff's Maj. Kent C. Washburn.
Washburn said it appears Henley was caught in the crossfire during a shooting between two men and a stray bullet penetrated the car she was riding in, striking her in the right side.
Police have arrested one of the two men on a gun charge, but no one has been charged yet with the slaying, Washburn said.
Washburn gave this account:
An argument between two men at the club erupted in gunfire shortly after 3 a.m. "They started shooting at each other outside the club," Washburn said.
Officers on scene quickly intervened and observed some men near the road outside the club. They chased them on foot and officers apprehended one of the shooters and recovered a gun, Washburn said.
A short time later, police received a report of woman who had been shot inside a vehicle at a service station three to five miles from the club. Police and rescue workers responded and found Henley in the vehicle with a gunshot wound.
"It appears that one of the bullets (from the club shooting) went through the car door and struck her," Washburn said.
Washburn said between 300 and 500 people were partying at the club.
Shavon Ragsdale, a friend of Henley's who traveled to Brunswick to celebrate the Fourth of July, said observers initially believed the gunshots were exploding fireworks and didn't think too much about it. Ragsdale said she was later stunned to learn that her friend had been fatally wounded.
"She was the only person hit in the shooting," Ragsdale said.
Henley had graduated in May from Virginia State University and was a 2004 graduate of Armstrong High School, Ragsdale said. She leaves behind a 1-year-old daughter, Kaylyn, who is now being cared for by a grandmother.
-- Mark Bowes
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
My Grandfather was killed in a similar manner 30 yrs ago in a southside bar, by a man who was out on parole for already killing one person. He was not supposed to have a gun, but he did! My Grandfather was sitting in the bar having dinner, was such a kind old soul, and the murderer got mad at someone else, went outside & got his gun and started shooting inside the bar, and he missed his target. Banning guns won’t stop a THUG from getting one…..and it won’t bring anyone back, it’s not the answer. God Bless this young lady and her family, such a tragedy!!!
Yes let’s make all guns illegal. While we’re at it, let’s make drugs illegal too so that irresponsible people can’t become addicted or overdose on them….wait…what? drugs are illegal? AND people can still get them? How is that possible?! But once something is made illegal, it is impossible to obtain! /sarcasm
The old saying that my mamma, and probably other people’s mamma’s, have said “NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS AFTER 11 PM!“
With regards to the weapons, how about we blame irresponsible people first? Because those some people drive drunk, set fires, overdose, and cause other issues.
The genie is out of the bottle with firearms, you cannot get it back in.
dogtown,
Evidence also more clearly shows that if the law abiding citizens cant have guns that the criminally minded ones will and cause even more grief because people like me cant defend ourselves. You want only criminals to have guns and not the ability to protect yourself? Evidence also clearly shows that just about every gun used in a situation like this was illegally purchased. Its called a black market. People like you will be crying like babies if guns are taken away from civil folk and the small police forces cant handle the load. My family faught for this country and laugh at comments made by people like you. Such narrow minded short sighted thinking would only cause massive criminal exploits of our society.
Oh, dogtown, don;t we all wish that abolishing the second amendment would solve all these gun problems. But don think for a second that that is going to happen. It’s not responsible gun owners that are at the clubs shooting people up, it’s the irresponsible ones. What makes you think by taking guns away from law abiding citizens is going to stop criminals from abtaining weapons? If we were to confiscate all the guns around the world, it still wouldn’t stop criminals from finding another weapon to harm people with. Some people are just bad people and get a thrill from doing bad things.
Another tragedy! At some point, responsible citizens are going to have to make the hard decision that the Second Amendment notwithstanding, evidence clearly shows that there are far too many weapons in the hand of irresponsible people.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement