The external report by the Sands Anderson law firm regarding the June 6, 2023 shooting after the Huguenot High School graduation at the Altria Theater was ordered to be released to the public by 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

The decision was made by Judge W. Reilly Marchant on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Lawyers, on behalf of Richmond Public Schools, argued that the report should not have been released to the public because of attorney-client privilege.

However, in his opinion letter, Judge Marchant stated that “a non-privileged document does not somehow become privileged simply because it includes information the owner would prefer not to disclose.”

Judge Marchant further added that “not every communication between attorney and client is protected by attorney-client privilege.”

According to the report, Sands Anderson was tasked to investigate the operations of graduation day “from set up, to break down” and the process and procedures for guests and students entering the Altria Theater. The investigation also was to include a breakdown of the homebound process and procedures and written statements from RPS and Huguenot High School staff involved in the graduations that were set to take place on June 6.

The Altria Theater contracted RMC Events to provide security personnel as the first point of contact if issues arose inside the venue or with a parent. RMC also had primary control over security equipment.

Neither the Altria Theater nor RMC participated in the investigation by Sands Anderson.

RPS provided additional security with 19 of their own Care and Safety Associates (CSAs). The CSAs were unarmed and only equipped with radios with no power to arrest or other authority outside of “keeping the peace.” CSAs were trained to conduct searches and use metal detectors, but they were not asked or permitted to aid in these procedures at the venue. RPS also hired five off- duty officers and three workers from Fire and EMS. Only one RMC employee was staffed at the venue entrance right before the graduation began.

If RMC could not control a situation inside the venue or an incident involving a parent, RPS security was designated as second in command followed by the Richmond Police Department.

There was no discussion about situations involving students or situations outside of the venue.

Shawn Jackson, 18, and his stepfather, Renzo Smith, 36, were killed following the graduation ceremony. Mr. Jackson was a homebound student who was not permitted to be on school property or at school sponsored events because of safety and mental health concerns. The safety concerns are said to be due to “an incident one of [Mr. Jackson’s] friends” was involved in that resulted in the shooting death of another person, according to the report and its exhibits.

Despite this, there were multiple instances of Mr. Jackson being on school grounds. Safety and security issues cited in the Sands Anderson Report included an email from Mr. Jackson’s mother to his counselor stating the family was “still homeless from [their] home being shot up, by students in Huguenot,” and another instance when Mr. Jackson took a test on school property “in the class with people who literally tried to kill him.”

School counselor Monique Harris, who is a mandated reporter of “threatening behavior, statements or actions,” according to the RPS threat assessment policy, was aware of the incident that occurred on school grounds. She did not report the information to an administrator to begin a threat assessment.

Mr. Jackson did not attend the graduation rehearsal, but he was “squeezed in” at the graduation ceremony, even though his counselor, Ms. Harris, noted how it might have been “too dangerous” in an email to Mr. Jackson’s mother, Tameeka Smith.

For a homebound student to be allowed on school grounds and school-sponsored events, the principal or the principal’s designee must give permission. Neither Huguenot High School’s then-principal, Robert Gilstrap, nor his designee granted this permission. Leading up to the graduation ceremony and thereafter,

Mr. Gilstrap did not provide support to the Jackson family and he lacked leadership at the school. Mr. Gilstrap was “checked out” of his role and was looking for another job, according to Solomon Jefferson, chief academic officer.

Some things remain unclear.

There were conflicting reports on whether the metal detectors at the venue worked and where they were located. School Board member Jonathan Young reported seeing stationary metal detectors at the graduates’ entrance of the venue.

RPS School Board members Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed and Stephanie Rizzi did not recall if metal detectors were at the event. Kevin Monroe, Huguenot assistant principal, said there were metal detectors, but they were faulty because the detectors did not go off when he walked through with a belt, phone and watch.

The investigation could not make a conclusive determination on the metal detectors without camera footage and Sands Anderson was unable to obtain footage because of the Altria Theater’s lack of cooperation, the report said.

There has been a pattern of negligence with safety procedures that have led to “emergencies in escalating magnitude,” RPS School Board member Kenya Gibson said in a statement.

“We had security issues when there was a school shooting months before the graduation. After those events, I called for the board to hire a safety auditor to monitor compliance with protocols,” Ms. Gibson said. “I hope my colleagues can now agree that position is necessary, and I hope they will support funding it.”

Josh Stanfield, who represented himself in the lawsuit against RPS for FOIA records, said he believes that it should not have been this hard for the public to access public records.

“Richmond has a major transparency problem, and I urge all citizens and journalists to hold the government accountable in a court of law,” Mr. Stanfield said in a statement. “As we now see from the report, there was indeed something for the School Board to hide.”