Police chief says shooting outside Virginia GOP offices has nothing to do with election

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A shooting Thursday just outside the Republican Party of Virginia offices in Richmond had nothing to do with the upcoming midterm elections, police said.

The party said in a statement posted online that a woman was shot around 1:45 p.m. directly in front of the building that houses its offices. Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said the woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities believe the woman was an innocent bystander, Edwards said. A woman inside a hair salon across the street, who remains in custody, told police a man with whom she had an ongoing dispute had come into the shop and she fired shots in self-defense.

The woman who was shot just happened to be on the block and has been taken to a hospital. She is expected to survive, he said.

Police believe the man who was inside the business may also have been shot, based on blood at the scene. Edwards urged the man to turn himself in to receive care and speak with detectives.

Frank Loehr, chief financial officer for the Republican Party of Virginia, told reporters that he and other staffers were working inside the office when shots rang out outside.

The woman had been speaking with two people who had a booth outside the building and was brought inside the office bleeding after being shot, he said. The booth was not affiliated with the party.

The woman was conscious and moaning in pain, and it appeared she had been struck in the shoulder, Loehr said. First responders arrived quickly and took her away, he said.

“I was shook up, and I’m still a little shook up,” Loehr said.