RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Public Schools released its third-party investigation into the June 2023 deadly shooting outside of the Huguenot High School graduation ceremony at the Altria Theater in Richmond, Virginia.
The school system released the report only after a circuit court judge sided with WTVR CBS 6 News and the Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD) in a lawsuit against the Richmond School Board, forcing the board to make the investigation findings public in compliance with public records laws.
The investigation, conducted by the law firm Sands Anderson, involved interviews with several Richmond Public School (RPS) staff members, including a counselor who worked closely with Shawn Jackson, the Huguenot High School student shot and killed along with his stepfather Renzo Smith.
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Jackson was a homebound RPS student, meaning he was not supposed to be allowed on school property or at school activities because of safety and security concerns including the "threat of neighborhood violence" as well as "ongoing mental health issues."
But Jackson did attend the June 6 ceremony.
However, according to the investigation, Jackson did not attend the graduation rehearsal just a week before the actual ceremony.
His mother asked the counselor if he should attend the rehearsal or if he would just be "squeezed in" the day of.
The counselor responded, "I will just squeeze him in if you feel that's too dangerous."
That authorization for Jackson to attend the ceremony could only have come from the Huguenot High School principal or his designee, per RPS homebound policy.
But the school counselor told investigators she did not engage in any discussions with the principal or other school leaders about this decision.
No threat assessment was ever conducted prior to June 6, and those who did have knowledge of safety concerns kept that to themselves and did not act on them, according to the investigation.
Despite RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras’ initial internal report saying the counselor approved Jackson’s attendance on behalf of the principal, investigators found no evidence to support that statement.
In fact, the report said that the principal had no direct involvement with Jackson’s participation and was described as “checked-out” and took a “laissez-faire approach” to managing the building, according to the district’s chief academic officer.
The principal declined to participate in the investigation, per the report.
Additionally, the investigation found that Jackson's mother had previously expressed concerns about a "threat of neighborhood violence," and in June 2022 alleged their home had been "shot up" by some Huguenot students.
Investigators noted that the email regarding their home being shot up was sent to Superintendent Jason Kamras and referred to central office staff. However, staff never referred the incident or concerns to security personnel.
The report included this statement:
"Information provided for this review supports the proposition that the student's participation in graduation occurred without any consideration of or adherence to required authorizations, and without proper vetting and consideration of the safety concerns that were known by several members of Huguenot High School."
Despite that statement, it is worth pointing out that Sands Anderson said its investigation made no determination whether the shooting could have been prevented, nor whether RPS graduation policies and procedures should change.
Those points, the report indicated, were beyond the scope of the law firm's review.
Board members Jonathan Young and Kenya Gibson were two members, in the minority on the nine-member board, who advocated for the release of the report.
They said the report speaks to failures and missteps on the district's end.
“Our first and foremost responsibility has always, above all else, has got to be to protect our students and our teachers. This report demonstrates we did not do that. Not only do we not do that, but the School Board of the City of Richmond attempted to sweep this under the rug, to cover it up," Young said.
"It's clear there are some missteps here without a doubt," Gibson said. “The response [from the administration] that we've gotten has been, you know, it's simply fallen short. Obviously, the district did take some steps in terms of the next graduations that happened, but ultimately, I'm eager to get more definitive direction in terms of how can we make sure this doesn't happen again."
The report also detailed conflicting information and findings about the security procedures in place on graduation day including:
- There was no discussion about any kind of security procedures or planning once people were outside the graduation.
- There were conflicting reports about where metal detectors were located, if they worked, and who was scanned.
- The Altria Theater and its contracted security team did not cooperate with the review, posing even more questions about what happened that day.
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"The Richmond City School Board and the RPS Administration welcome the release of the Monroe Park shooting report prepared by the Sands Anderson law firm and are grateful for the professionalism and sensitivity with which they conducted their investigation. Transparency is critical for a public entity like RPS and we look forward to sharing the information included in this report," Richmond Public Schools said in a statement that accompanied the report. "The Board initially voted not to release the report because, among other things, a majority believed the report included legal guidance that was exempt from release; wanted to uphold the promise of confidentiality made to RPS employees who participated in the investigation, and hoped to avoid taking any action that might jeopardize the ongoing criminal case against the alleged assailant.
We respect the Court’s decision and welcome the opportunity to share the report’s findings. We also acknowledge and respect the minority of the Board that advocated for the release of the report earlier."
Again, Huguenot High School graduate Shawn Jackson and his stepfather Renzo Smith were killed in the shooting.
Several other people were wounded.
Some Richmond School Board members had previously described the findings of the investigation as "damning," "alarming," and "deeply concerning."
Certain board members also raised questions about Shawn Jackson's attendance at the ceremony, considering he was a homebound student at the time due to the "threat of neighborhood violence," according to emails obtained by CBS 6.
Amari Pollard was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder and use of a firearm. He is scheduled to go on trial in February.
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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