Commonwealth Times

Media Credit: Rachel Larue Byrd Park [Click to enlarge]

[Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Rachel Larue Byrd Park near the area where VCU student Tyler Binsted was killed (ct/Rachel Larue). [Click to enlarge]

[Click to enlarge]

Tragedy struck VCU this past week with the slaying of VCU art student Tyler J. Binsted.

Binsted and a female companion were robbed at gunpoint by two men at 1 a.m. Thursday in Richmond's Byrd Park. The robbers took the keys to the female's navy blue Honda Accord, shot Binsted in the back as the couple attempted to run away and then fled the scene in the stolen vehicle, according to reports from the Richmond Police Department.

Many VCU students reacted to the news with sadness and frustration. They also questioned why the robbers killed Binsted - a 19-year-old Honors College student and sculpture major from Mount Jackson, Va. - after he apparently complied with the robbers demands.

"It's strange they shot him; they already got his car," Kirsten Coles said.

Other students in VCU's sculpture department were equally devastated.

"I'm furious about it, (because) it was so senseless," Andre Ponticello said. "We are taking it real hard. We saw him every day. It's really tough."

VCU's sculpture school is described by its students as a small place where students have a kinship to one another.

"I may not have known him well, but we were the same major," said Alison Norton, another VCU sculpture student. "We've lost a creative mind; it's really sad."

When sculpture-department faculty members heard the news, they held a meeting to discuss the tragedy with sculpture students.

"People were crying, (and) it was really emotional. It was hard to be there," Ponticello said.

Most VCU students, faculty members and staff members received the grim news in a VCU-alert e-mail Thursday morning.

"As soon as I logged on to the VCU portal, I saw it (the e-mail). I was shocked," Coles said. "It made me realize that traveling off campus can be dangerous."

In the e-mail, VCU President Eugene P. Trani stated, "VCU will do everything it can to be sure that those responsible are apprehended and prosecuted."

Although some VCU students agreed they feel safe on campus, they also think roaming city streets late at night can be dangerous.

"It's sad when you lose a student, but you are putting yourself in danger at 1 a.m. outside of campus," said Steven Latimer, a presidential candidate for the Student Government Association.

In an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jack Risley, director of VCU's Art Foundation, said he wasn't surprised to hear that Binsted, who had an adventurous streak, would go for a walk in a park after midnight.

"There was kind of a romantic in him, so what could be better than to go for a walk with a friend on a beautiful evening?" Risley said.

Byrd Park is located two miles away from VCU's Monroe Park Campus. The park features public tennis courts, a dog park, paths for scenic walks and various lakes.

The robbery is the first to occur in Byrd Park this year. The murder was Richmond's 12th this year.

Byrd Park has had 46 different crimes occur in 2008, including two burglaries and numerous narcotics offenses, according to the Richmond Police crime-incident database.

To some students, the location of the murder came as a surprise.

"I wasn't aware the area was dangerous," said Gonzalo Aida-Brescia, a candidate for SGA vice president.

Others were unsure of the park's proximity to campus.

"I was scared. I didn't know where Byrd Park was," student Erica Wolf said.

The Richmond Police have made one arrest in the case so far.

"Howard Reed Scott III, 17, is charged with murder, two counts of robbery and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony," according to a statement released by the Richmond Police Public Affairs Unit. Police still are searching for the second robber-described as a black male, about 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall, between the ages of 13 and 15 and who uses "Pete" as a nickname.

Many VCU students said they still plan to venture outside of campus, despite the tragedy.

"Any city could be dangerous-it's not just Richmond," Coles said. "I feel safe in reasonable hours, and it's best to travel in large groups late at night."

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