THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 27, 1994 TAG: 9408270253
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Less than eight months into 1994, Richmond police have responded to nearly as many murders as they did in all of 1993.
The slaying of a man found Thursday morning brought the city's homicide total to 111 - within one of last year's total of 112.
The highest number of homicides recorded in a year was 120, in 1992.
Mayor Leonidas B. Young's administrative assistant, Alicia Rasin, said she has been responding to several residents who have voiced concerns about safety, crime and drug activity.
The city recently held a two-day crime summit to try to come up with plans to fight the violence. Local officials came up with several proposals, including a temporary declaration of martial law.
The latest murder victim was an unidentified man who was found on a street in the Fulton Bottom area of the city's East End.
The victim was found near the passenger side of a red Toyota truck that apparently veered off the road and into some bushes and a parked car, police said.
People nearby said they heard shots and a car speeding away, but no bullet holes were found in the truck. The shooting was reported to police about 11:20 a.m.
Contractors working Thursday in Fulton Bottom said the gunfire sounded like a car backfiring.
``Richmond is a dangerous place to be,'' said a sales contractor from Hopewell who was working in the area at the time.
Several residents from a nearby housing complex said drug sales are rampant in the area. But they said those selling drugs and involved in violent activity do not live in the area.
KEYWORDS: MURDER CRIME STATISTICS
by CNB