RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond International Raceway hosted a National Night Event inside the track’s infield for dozens of families and law enforcement personnel on Tuesday.
Gov. Ralph Northam met with organizations like Henrico Police, Henrico Sheriff’s Office, Henrico Fire and EMS, in addition to non-profits and businesses who set up within the track.
“It’s great, number one, to see law enforcement out here,” Northam told reporters. “They’re making a great attempt and I encourage it, to get out in the communities and establish a relationship with folks. Respect is a two-way avenue.”
Northam was asked about the rise in gun violence, especially the crimes that have involved young people as victims and suspects.
“It’s been stressful, there’s a lot of anxiety out here. We are seeing higher rates of crime and gun violence,” he responded. “It’s just a message that there are too many guns on our streets in the hands of the wrong people. This is one of the things we really advocated for with common-sense gun legislation that we proposed and passed. But we need to continue to work on that. We need our communities to be safe. People need to be able to walk out at events like this or go into the neighborhoods and movie theater or whatever and feel safe.”
RIR invited families who live in the neighborhoods surrounding their property for their National Night Event, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic.
