RICHMOND, Va. — A City of Richmond employee was shot in Shockoe Bottom early Wednesday morning, according to Richmond police.
The worker, who was on the job at the time, was shot in the shoulder along North 18th Street before 1:30 a.m. He was taken to an area hospital with a non-life threatening injury.
"Thank you for your love and prayers. Unfortunately I was shot this morning while I was at work driving the trash truck in Shockoe Bottom," the victim posted on social media. "Where I was parked getting trash up I was struck by a bullet. I am ok for the most part stable but still I am in ruff shape. God is good to me all the time and he has his arms around me!! God bless you all. I’ll be ok just going to be a long road to recovery."
According to police, a confrontation among other people in front of a nearby business resulted in a suspect or suspects shooting at a departing vehicle. The victim was near the departing vehicle in a Department of Public Works trash truck when he was shot.
"This is heartbreaking and exactly why I am elevating this issue through my newly-established Office of Gun Violence prevention. Every Richmonder deserves to feel safe, whether you're out with friends or out collecting trash at 1:30 in the morning," Mayor Danny Avula said in a statement.
Police Chief Rick Edwards said that starting May 31, state troopers will accompany Richmond officers in areas most impacted by gun violence.
"We're hoping to turn the tide," Edwards said. "It worked really well last year. Last year, we had 54 murders, obviously 54 is 54 too many, but that was significantly lower than the previous year."
Anyone with information on this shooting is asked to call Major Crimes Detective W. Hartley at 804-646-4314 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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