RICHMOND (Virginia), June 7 ― Two people were shot dead and five others wounded after a gunman opened fire in a park in Richmond, Virginia, yesterday as high school graduates and their families emerged from a theatre where commencement exercises had just concluded, police said.

Police arrested a suspect, a 19-year-old man, and planned to charge him with two counts of second-degree murder in addition to other possible offences, interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards and other officials told reporters.

The shooting occurred outside the Altria Theater on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, where local high school graduation ceremonies were being held.

The deceased were men aged 18 and 36, Edwards said. He did not confirm a WWBT television news report that the victims were father and son.

Among the shooting victims, a 31-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries and four other males aged 14, 32, 55 and 58 were expected to survive, Edwards said.

In addition, a 9-year-old girl was struck by a car in the chaos that ensued, and multiple other people were injured in falls or suffered from anxiety, Edwards said. ― Reuters