On the same day as the tip, police went to a residence in the 1000 block of Columbia Ave. where they found the weapons and ammunition. In all, police found two assault rifles, a handgun and 223 rounds of ammunition in the home, Smith said. One man was arrested Friday, and police were looking for a second person, who was arrested Tuesday, the chief said. Both suspects were charged with non-citizen possession of a firearm. “They were planning, actually, to shoot the Fourth of July celebration,” Smith said. “We know what their intent is, but we don’t have their motive, we know they lived in the same location.” Both men are being held without bond in the Richmond City Jail, Smith said. “Our officers quietly investigated and worked with our law enforcement partners and the community to stop a terrible day for the city of Richmond,” said Mayor Levar Stoney. “As we continue to live in an era, an era of mass shootings across our country, no community is immune.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI were also involved in the investigation, Smith said. Police did not elaborate on plans for the mass shooting, but reiterated the importance of the tip. “There’s no telling how many lives this hero citizen saved with one phone call,” Smith said. “Public safety is everyone’s responsibility. One phone call saved many lives on the 4th of July.” The news from Richmond comes just two days after a mass shooting that left seven dead and dozens injured during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois. The massacre in Highland Park caps an already bloody American spring and summer — in the past 186 days, more than 300 mass shootings have occurred in the US, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks such incidents. CNN’s Jason Hanna, Adrienne Broaddus and Helen Regan contributed to this report.
