PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) – Virginia State Police is investigating a double shooting that happened early Wednesday morning that has left one person in critical condition.
Troopers responded to the incident just after 1:15 a.m. at Exit 65 on I-85 southbound on the ramp that leads to Squirrel Level Road.
State police said the early findings of their investigation revealed a back seat passenger shot the other two vehicle occupants.
The passengers, a man and a woman, were both rushed to the hospital. The man suffered life-threatening injuries and the woman was injured but is expected to survive.
A spokesperson for VSP said the investigation is in its early stages and did not say whether the suspect was in custody at this time.
An update from VSP on Wednesday afternoon announced that the man had passed away at the hospital. The male victim has been identified as 41-year-old Kenneth Michael Golding of Richmond, Virginia. The female passenger is 33 years old and is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
8News spoke to one man who lives nearby the location where the double shooting happened and said the amount of crime so close to home lately is worrisome.
“It’s sad to think that that happens right in my front yard, basically,” said Zachary Eaton.
He heard gunshots overnight, and told 8News it is a familiar sound in his neighborhood.
“I’ve heard them often enough around here, that I can’t say for sure if they were related,” Eaton said.
Another shooting, that left one man for dead in a car, happened close by the scene of Wednesday morning’s shooting, at the Marathon gas station in October.
“Since we’ve been here, we had this incident that happened last night, we had the shooting that I mentioned at the gas station, my car’s been broken into,” Eaton told 8News Wednesday.
The amount of crime, Eaton says, may push he and his fiancé to move.
“It’s not a good environment for children,” he said. “We wouldn’t want to have kids around here.”
State police is asking for tips on the two people involved in the shooting.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Virginia State Police at 804-609-5656 or by email at questions@vsp.virginia.gov.
This is a developing story and we will continue to update this article as we learn more information.
