The overnight hours on Hull Street are not usually quiet. But just after 2 a.m. on a Saturday, the noise that woke the block was not traffic or conversation. It was gunfire. Multiple rounds. Rapid. Unmistakable. Neighbors on the 3400 block of Hull Street in Richmond knew immediately what they were hearing.
Police dispatchers logged the first call at approximately 2:13 a.m. The location was near the Jack Market & Deli, a convenience store that stays open late and draws foot traffic at all hours. Officers were sent to the scene. When they arrived, they found a man on the ground. He was later identified as Alphonso Satchell, 47-year-old, a resident of Richmond. He had been shot. He was not moving. Paramedics did not transport him. There was no need. Satchell was pronounced dead where he lay.
Crime scene tape went up quickly. Evidence markers appeared along the sidewalk and into the roadway. The number of markers was striking. Investigators from the forensic team collected so many shell casings that they briefly ran out of the small yellow placards used to tag evidence. The scene told a story of sustained gunfire, not a single shot fired in panic.
But Satchell was not the only victim. Shortly after the shooting, a second adult male walked into a local hospital with a gunshot wound. His injuries were serious but not life threatening. Police later confirmed that he had been shot in the same incident. The two shootings were connected. The second man is expected to survive.
Detectives are now working to determine what happened in the moments before the gunfire. The area near East 34th Street and Hull Street has seen multiple recent shootings. Residents say they have grown accustomed to the sound of sirens and the sight of police lights. But the frequency of violence has escalated. This shooting marked the third homicide and fifth shooting in just three days on Richmond’s Southside. A surge that has left the community on edge.
Major Crimes detectives have taken over the investigation. The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine Satchell’s official cause and manner of death, though the circumstances leave little doubt. Police have not released any suspect information. No arrests have been announced. Investigators are asking anyone who was in the area around 2 a.m. to come forward. Even small details, they say, could be significant.
The Jack Market & Deli convenience store sits at a busy intersection. On a Saturday morning, it would normally see customers coming and going. Instead, it was closed behind yellow tape. A 47 year old man from Richmond is dead. Another man is recovering in a hospital. And the Southside is left to wonder when the next round of gunfire will come.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Major Crimes Detective B. Neifeld at 804 646 3246 or Crime Stoppers at 804 780 1000. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the P3 app. The investigation remains active. The casings have been counted. But the shooter has not been found.
