WATCH: Richmond Police Department holds first quarterly crime briefing of 2024

CORRECTION: This article has been corrected to reflect the accurate age of a suspect after the Richmond Police Department issues a correction.

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond City Police Chief Rick Edwards addressed new developments in recent shooting deaths, trends of crimes during the first quarter of the year and offerings of Operation Safe Summer during the quarterly crime briefing on Thursday.

The crime briefing was held at Richmond Police Headquarters at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 18.

Ahead of the breakdown of statistics, Edwards announced that there have been nine people shot and killed in the city since Easter.

Edwards also announced that 18-year-old Joseph Treakle, of Richmond has been arrested and charged with attempted robbery in connection to the shooting of a 14-year-old boy at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Front Street, after which the boy died in the hospital. Edwards added that the department plans to seek indictments related to the deadly shooting.

In addition, Edwards said that 20-year-old Ke’mon Pryor, of Richmond has been arrested in connection to the 16-year-old Henrico boy who was shot near the 2100 block of Deforrest Street in the Whitcomb Court area, and later died in the hospital. Pryor has been charged with robbery and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Edwards continued to say that at this time last year, there were 24 homicides in Richmond. So far this year — including the death of 25-year-old Robert Joseph after he was shot on Wednesday, April 17 at the 1300 block of Coalter Street — there have been 18 homicides, which reflects a 25% reduction.

“Nobody feels that right now because of the two weeks we’ve had, but it’s important to note,” Edwards said.

Afterward, Edwards confirmed that Officer Todd Hall, who he said has 13 years of experience with the Richmond Police Department, was the officer involved in the shooting at the 1900 block of Cedar Street that left a 20-year-old Kenneth Sharp dead on Easter Sunday.

Once the Richmond Police Department completes a criminal review of the shooting, Edwards said the file will be given to the Office of the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney, which will then review the case and either decide to bring the evidence to a grand jury or write a letter of declination to determine no crime has been committed.

At that point, Edwards said the department will begin an internal review to see if any policy violations occurred.

In regards to statistics, Edwards then said that within the first quarter of crimes leading up to March 31 — which excludes the four juveniles who were shot and killed — homicides were down 38%. In addition, overall violent crime was down 7%.

Edwards also confirmed that robberies increased this year, with 36 in 2023 and 58 in the first quarter of 2024, with most occurring in the city’s Southside.

In addition, Edwards reminded the community of Operation Safe Summer , which will begin early this year on Friday, April 19 in hopes of mitigating violent crime and increasing public safety.

Edwards also encouraged parents to check on their children’s social media, as it can be a place where online arguments turn into in-person altercations that could turn deadly.

Near the end of the briefing, Edwards demonstrated the use of a gun safe, which the department will be offering to families for free as part of Operation Safe Summer.

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