It was just another Thursday evening at the Belt Atlantic Apartments off Midlothian Turnpike in South Richmond until everything went terribly wrong for Sally Sally. She ended up dead following an officer-involved shooting, and the circumstances are murky enough that investigators are now piecing together exactly what happened.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards didn’t hold back the grim reality. “This is a tragic day,” he admitted. “A person lost their lives and an officer had to do something that none of us is willing this police department to do, to take another person’s life.” The chief called it “a sad day all around,” and honestly, that captures the heavy feeling hanging over the whole situation.
Here’s what went down. Officers first got the call around 6:47 p.m. for a shooting in progress at the complex. As they rolled up, they could actually hear more gunshots ringing out. Bystanders directed them upstairs, and while the officers were climbing the stairwell, four more shots echoed through the building. That’s when one officer came face-to-face with Sally Sally and made the split-second decision to fire.
On the ground, it was chaos—the kind of heavy police presence that makes residents’ stomachs drop. Multiple officers, patrol units, and emergency vehicles swarmed the property. First responders tried like hell to save Sally right there on the scene, doing everything they could with emergency aid, but she was pronounced dead where she fell. Nobody else turned up hurt, and oddly enough, no one showed up at any local hospitals with gunshot wounds either.
The officer who pulled the trigger is now on paid administrative leave, which is standard operating procedure while the criminal investigation plays out. Chief Edwards made it clear the Commonwealth’s Attorney will be the one to decide if the officer actually broke any laws. Even if the officer gets cleared criminally, there’s still an internal review waiting to see if any department policies got violated.
Here’s something worth paying attention to: all of this was supposedly captured on body camera footage. The chief confirmed that, per policy for fatal officer-involved shootings, that video will see the light of day within two weeks. Investigators are also combing through witness accounts and any other camera footage they can get their hands on. This marks the second officer-involved shooting in Richmond this year, both happening in the 2nd Precinct, which is bound to raise some eyebrows among folks keeping score.
As crime scene units worked the complex and detectives interviewed witnesses, the Belt Atlantic community was left trying to process what happened in their own backyard. Anyone with video or information that might help piece the full sequence together is being asked to call 911 or reach out to Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. For now, Sally Sally’s family faces the kind of loss no one prepares for, and Richmond waits for answers.
