VA Teen Fatally Shot, Body Found In Trash Can: Reports

RICHMOND, VA — A family is searching for answers after a 17-year-old Virginia teen was fatally shot and his body discovered in a trash can, according to multiple reports.

Police found Tamel Durant's body last week in a trash can near a Richmond housing complex at 23rd and Rosetta streets, according to reports. He was pronounced dead at the scene, WWBT-TV reported.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to WWBT.

Police told WTVR they believe the shooting took place hours before Durant was found based on the condition of his body.

"It is troubling how he was found, how we can discard life that way," Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said. "The residents out here, I've talked to them and they're heartbroken, they're heartbroken because this is where they live, this is where they raise their kids."

Durant was a student at Armstrong High School, his family told WRIC. He moved to Richmond from Brooklyn, New York, two years ago and enjoyed playing basketball and listening to music.

"We need answers. We don’t have the answers," Durant's stepmother, Daytoria Durant, told WRIC. "Tamel was not a threat to anybody."

Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras released a statement Thursday, calling Durant's death "the horrific reality that so many of our young people face each day."

"Our city is hurting. Despite the efforts of so many in our community — elders, government leaders, law enforcement, clergy, and more — the lethal pandemic of gun violence is tearing through our city at an alarming rate," Kamras said. "Those who survive are left with scars — physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, relational — that will almost certainly never heal."

Anyone with information about this death investigation is asked to contact Major Crimes Detective A. Coates at 804-646-0729 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000. All Crime Stoppers calls are anonymous.