Lakeith Ruffin Jr. was 30 when he was shot and killed in Richmond, Virginia. On the evening of Sunday, April 3, 2022, he had been celebrating a relative’s birthday in the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood. The celebration moved to a local club where an argument reportedly occurred. Shortly after 11 p.m., while Ruffin and his group were on North 19th Street, gunfire erupted; he was struck and later died at the hospital. His death was recorded as the 14th gun-related homicide in Richmond that year.

Ruffin, a former Highland Springs High School homecoming king, was remembered by his mother, Tracey Ruffin, as a man of faith who brought joy to others and who spent his final hours surrounded by family. The Richmond Police Department opened a homicide investigation and asked the public for information. No arrests or suspects have been publicly announced and the case remains under investigation.

If anyone has information about what happened that night, please share it with investigators.