Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 15, 1994                   TAG: 9410170066
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Medium

3 CHILDREN, 2 ADULTS JOIN RICHMOND'S RECORD SLAIN

A pregnant 14-year-old who lost the fetus she was carrying was among the wounded, police said.

A neighbor said she heard shots fired and children scream between 9:10 and 9:20 a.m. in the second-floor apartment of the Gilpin Court housing complex.

``I just can't believe it. I can't believe somebody would do something like that to children,'' said a neighbor who refused to identify herself. ``The kids were always playing out here - normal kids, bringing home stuff, playing in the dirt.''

Police were searching for Christopher C. Goins, 20, of Richmond, but said they did not know the motive for the shooting or whether the suspect was still in the city.

The crime was the worst in what already has been the deadliest year in the city's history. The deaths brought the number of homicides in Richmond to 133. The worst year on record had a total of 120 homicides.

The neighbor said she heard a succession of shots, ``Pow, pow, pow.'' After a pause, she ``heard the little children holler, and after that two pows. That was it.''

A spokeswoman at the Medical College of Virginia said one child was in stable condition and another was being evaluated. She declined to elaborate or say whether the injuries were life-threatening.

Neighbors said a woman lived in the apartment with her children and the children's father was visiting when the shootings occurred.

The mother ``was a quiet woman. She always kept to herself,'' said another neighbor who wouldn't give her name. ``She stayed home all the time to take care of the children.''

Mournful city officials expressed anger about the carnage, which anti-crime initiatives in the drug-ridden neighborhood did not deter.

``Words cannot explain the contempt and anger I hold for this person,'' said City Manager Robert Bobb. ``He has become the most wanted individual in the city of Richmond.''

Gilpin Court had been plagued by crime in previous years, but residents and police said the neighborhood had been quieter since it received funding under the federal ``Weed & Seed'' program. That effort, begun several years ago, added police patrols and social programs for Gilpin Court.

The city also had put additional patrols in high-crime areas because of the city's high murder rate.

The homicide rate appeared to have slowed in recent weeks as a result of the enhanced patrols. Police Chief Marty Tapscott, who announced his retirement only Thursday, was clearly frustrated by the shootings.

``We had five officers in this area today,'' Tapscott said. ``We can't patrol in people's homes.''

Keywords:
FATALITY