RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - A violent morning in the Richmond area began around 1 a.m. Sunday on the 400 block of West Marshall Street in Jackson Ward.
Investigators say a group of four black males in their 20s got into a confrontation with 24-year-old Nathan Ratigan and then shot him in the chest outside his home. The four suspects escaped.
“They were seen running actually down the alley towards Belvidere," Gene Lepley, spokesperson for the Richmond Police Department, said.
Ratigan died at VCU Medical Center about an hour later.
“I heard one loud shot and then something really quick, 'bang, bang, bang,’” said a man that lives near where Ratigan was killed. “It all seems so senseless," said the man who asked to remain anonymous. "Especially with all the strong arm stuff that's been happening at VCU. It's just senseless,” he added.
Then just after 2 a.m., Henrico Police got a call about a fatal shooting in the 8000 block of Shrader Road.
Investigators found a black male sitting in a car with a gunshot wound. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene.
Shrader Lane Bowling Alley is located right on the 8000 block of Shrader Road.
CBS 6 spoke with a manager who said that a tragedy happened, but could not comment further or provide any details.
Henrico Police didn't have to go far to investigate. The Henrico Public Safety building is only about 200 yards down the road from where the murder occurred.
“It's just very frightening to me that it would happen that close to a police station," Henrico resident Randy McGuire said. "What a disregard that is.”
The killing on Marshall Street is the 12th homicide in the city of Richmond since Sept. 1.
These overnight shootings in both Henrico and Richmond have people speculating to why things have gotten so violent recently.
“People seem so much more likely to confront people," McGuire said. "I don't know whether that's a cultural change; whether it's economics."
“People just need to stop moment, take a deep breath, and think before they do,” Catherine Forney said.
If you have any information on either of these shootings, you are asked to contact either the Richmond or Henrico County Police Department.
