RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond's Major Crimes detectives were called to three violent crime scenes across the city within a 14-hour period Wednesday.
The first call came around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, when Major Crimes detectives responded to the Southwood community for a shots fired call. Officers found a man shot in the head. A homicide investigation is underway.
About four hours later, around 5:30 a.m., police and SWAT responded to the 3400 block of Parkwood Avenue after a man was found dead in the street. A person was barricaded inside a nearby home. A woman was taken into custody, though no charges have been announced in that case.
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Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards addressed reports of loud noises heard during the operation, saying three “loud bangs” were not gunfire.
“That was our light sound distraction devices,” Edwards said. “That is used sometimes by our SWAT team when they’re making entry into a dangerous situation.”
Crime Insider sources say the death investigation on Parkwood Avenue may also have a drug connection.
The third scene unfolded around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday, when a man was shot in the arm in the Church Hill neighborhood and taken to a nearby hospital with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries. Crime tape was seen flapping in the wind at 20th and X streets in the city's East End.
"It gets worse and worse by the day," an anonymous community member said. "Even to a point where they're just smoking crack or whatever drug of their choice, shooting up right in front of your face, they don't care if you're right there. They're very disrespectful. You see the drug dealers, they pull up and they serving and they just chilling."
Sources say detectives are investigating whether the Church Hill shooting was triggered by drug-related activity.
Sources say none of the three violent crimes are connected.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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