RICHMOND, Va. -- According to Richmond Police, nine people have been shot and killed in the city since Easter.
Four of them were under the age of 18.
At a crime briefing Thursday, Police Chief Rick Edwards shared an update on the recent homicides, saying at least three people are now in custody for three separate homicides.
Joseph Treakle, 20, of Richmond, has been charged with attempted robbery resulting in serious injury or death. An indictment for the murder of a 14-year-old on March 31 is expected.
Juwan Lewis, 28, of Richmond has been charged with murder and discharging a firearm in an occupied dwelling. He was charged in connection to the deathof 28-year-old Kyron Hoskey on April 6.
Ke'mon Pryor, 20, of Richmond has been charged with robbery and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, tied to the murder of a 16-year-old on April 10.
"The majority of our shootings and our homicides are interpersonal disputes that escalate to gun violence, including yesterday's," Chief Edwards said, citing Wednesday's homicide on Coalter Street that claimed the life of 25-year-old Robert Joseph of Richmond.
Despite the recent trend, Edwards said the community needs to look at the broader picture when it comes to crime data.
So far this year, there have been 18 homicides. In 2023, by this point last year, there had been 24 homicides.
"That's a 25% reduction. Nobody feels that right now because of the kind of two weeks we've had, but it's important to note," Edwards said.
According to Richmond Police, between January 1 and March 31, the city saw a 38% reduction in homicides compared to the same time frame last year.
Comparing those same time frames, overall violent crime is down by about 7%.
Police say rape, commercial robbery, and aggravated assault cases are also down.
Individual robbery, however, has increased by about 61 percent compared to last year. According to Richmond Police, carjackings and robberies of an individual seem to mostly happen on Richmond's South Side, based on a "hot spot" map shared Thursday.
Non-fatal shootings and accidental shootings were also higher compared to last year.
Still, Richmond's Violent Crime Threshold data suggests that violent crime is lower so far this year, compared to the last seven years.
Still, some want more. During RPD's community walk in Whitcomb Court Wednesday, a resident told CBS 6's Jon Burkett that she witnessed one of the teens killed in her backyard.
"They need to bring Project Exile back," she said, referring to a tactic from the 1990s, where possession of an illegal gun conviction meant a minimum five-year sentence at a federal prison.
CBS 6 asked Chief Edwards if Project Exile, or something similar to it, could be put in place at Thursday's briefing.
"Well, I think that's definitely an option. I think that we already have those laws in place. So possession of a firearm by a convicted felony is in place. Federal adoption is still in place. I think the difference is the scale in which those cases are adopted and the mandatory minimums. But I hope it doesn't have to get to that point," Edwards said. "The goal shouldn't be to lock up more and more people. There are people that need to be taken off our streets, but the goal is for us to avoid that early on with early intervention strategies."
Leonard Andrews, who has lived in his Richmond home for 47 years, says things have changed recently.
"It's dangerous to even sit on the porch," Andrews said. "I've seen shootouts here in the middle of the intersection."
He says he's especially worried since many of the fatal shootings in Richmond have involved children.
"When we first moved here they didn't use guns, they fought each other with their fists," Andrews said. "They gotta get those guns away from them, or else they will keep on shooting."
A striking aspect of Thursday's crime briefing included statistics about Richmond's Safe Camera Program.
Two cameras have been placed near Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts and Linwood Holton Elementary School and are used between 7:15 and 9:15 a.m. and 2:15 and 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Between February 5 and March 17, 5,242 citations were issued, averaging about 187 per day. Between March 18 and March 31, when the cameras were "live," 1,411 were issued, averaging about 176 per day.
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