CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A man has been charged in connection to an attempted robbery that led to a shooting on Thursday morning, the Chesapeake Police Department said.
Police responded to a report of a shooting at Andy's Barbershop, located at 4311 Indian River Road, around 11:38 a.m. When officers arrived, they found that a suspect had attempted to rob the store and shot an employee. The employee was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said the suspect, later identified as 20-year-old Rashed Mekel Kennedy, ran away from the scene. He was later taken into custody.
Kennedy has been charged with simple assault, robbery, firearm use in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, reckless handling of a firearm and discharging a firearm in a public place resulting in an injury.
Chesapeake police are still investigating this incident.
Just yesterday, Chesapeake police were at the same shopping center for a different robbery call at the Family Dollar, which was robbed at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. The suspect had a firearm as well in that instance.
That robbery forced nearby Sparrow Road Intermediate School to go on lockdown for a half hour. The suspect fled from that scene as well.
Chesapeake authorities told 13News Now they do not believe these two incidents are related, but Thursday's shooting remains under investigation.
If you have any information that may help police you're asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or submit a tip online at p3tips.com.