An particular person described by police in Virginia as a “hero citizen” helped to halt a attainable mass capturing incident on the Fourth of July.
During a press convention on Wednesday, the Richmond Police Department introduced that on July 1, a “hero citizen” overheard a dialog a few potential mass capturing incident to happen at a Fourth of July parade within the metropolis. The “hero citizen” alerted the police, who then launched an investigation and have been capable of arrest two people and seize two rifles, a handgun and over 200 rounds of ammunition.
The announcement on Wednesday comes only a few days after at the least seven people died in a mass capturing incident throughout a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
On Monday, authorities in Illinois arrested Robert E. Crimo III for allegedly finishing up the mass capturing incident, that left dozens of others injured, along with the seven that died.
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Police mentioned that Crimo wearing girls’s clothes to disguise himself and climbed to the roof of a constructing close to the parade. He fired greater than 70 rounds from a legally bought weapon and was capable of efficiently escape the scene by utilizing the disguise. On Wednesday, officers introduced that Crimo admitted to finishing up the capturing incident in Highland Park.
During the press convention on Wednesday, Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith mentioned that a person recognized as 52-year-old Julio Alvardo was taken into custody shortly after police found the firearms and ammo on July 1.
“He was charged with being a non-U.S. citizen in possession of a firearm,” Smith mentioned.
As the investigation continued, officers found a second topic believed to be related to the attainable mass capturing incident, recognized as 38-year-old Rolman Balacarcel.
Balacarcel was arrested on July 5 and faces the identical expenses as Alvardo. The two are presently in jail in Richmond.
“The success of this particular investigation can only be juxtaposed against the horrors that the rest of the country has seen,” Smith mentioned. “There is no telling how many lives this hero citizen saved from one phone call…one phone call saved numerous lives on the Fourth of July and moving forward we implore everyone, if you see something, say something.”
During the press convention on Wednesday, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney additionally spoke in regards to the incident and mentioned that gun violence within the U.S. is presently an “epidemic.”
“Unfortunately because of the proliferation of these weapons of war and who can get their hands on them, whether you are at home in your cul-de-sac, or in your neighborhood, or in a park, or at a parade, out dying, you have to keep your head on a swivel,” Stoney mentioned.
Update 06/07/22, 3:10 p.m. ET: This article was up to date with extra info.