RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC)— The community is coming together to have a much-needed discussion after 15-year-old Tynashia Humphrey was shot and killed Monday night.
Family members and loved ones gathered at the Food Lion on Jahnke Road to have an urgent dialogue with other members of the community. New t-shirts with a simple phrase were on display; “I just went to the store.” Family members called for justice to find Tynashia’s killer and asked for the violence to stop.
“She’s a kid,” said Ciji Redd, Tnashia’s former cheerleading coach and close family friend.
Redd told 8News that she was known as “Auntie” to Tynashia and had the opportunity to coach her in cheerleading as she grew up.
“I feel hurt,” Redd said. “Tynashia had a radiant smile. She was always the tallest in the group. We called it a stick.”
Now, Redd and other community members are calling for much-needed change.
“I just wish it was better in our community because 30 years of seeing the same thing in our community is getting tiring,” Redd said.
Richmond police said Tynashia was walking with friends to a corner store in the area of North 1st Street and Federal Street around 7:30 p.m. when two groups started shooting at each other. Tynashia was shot in that exchange and when authorities arrived at the scene, they found her dead body.
Her cousin, Ricky Johnson, told 8News that he organized the event to make sure his little cousin gets justice and that her name is heard around town.
“I have to continue to make people see that real change is possible. That there is still hope in the city of Richmond,” Johnson said. “I’m already tired. He was tired. I’m just waiting for you all to get tired.”
Johnson plans to host a number of events throughout the week in honor of Tynashia Humphrey, while also looking to show unity in the community.
This incident is still under investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Major Crimes Detective P. Ripley at 804-646-0423.
