Victim was the 'life of the party'

Richmond School District Superintendent Jason Kamras said that teen shooting victim Shawn Jackson was popular and overcame challenges to graduate.

“Those who did know Shawn described him as bubbly and the life of the party,” Karmas said.

The school official added: “Getting to the graduation stage was not easy. Nevertheless, he did it. And he was rightly proud and smiling and celebrating like all of his peers.

"And then just a few minutes later, while enjoying the moment with his family in Monroe Park, he was gunned down.”

Mayor calls for justice

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney called for prosecutors to punish Amari Pollard, saying that "the individual who committed this senseless and cowardly act must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

"Our city, our community will not be defined by this violence," said Mayor Stoney.

He added: "We will heal, we will recover and this will not break us."

School superintendent reveals chilling detail

Shawn Jackson, 18, and his stepfather Renzo Smith, 36, were shot after Huguenot High School's commencement ceremony.

Richmond School District Superintendent Jason Kamras revealed that Shawn was shot while he was "still in his graduation gown."

“I still can’t shake the image of Shawn receiving CPR on the ground still in his graduation gown,” Kamras said as his voice quivered.

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