A woman was shot directly outside the Republican Party of Virginia's headquarters in Richmond on Thursday afternoon, just days before Election Day, according to the state GOP.
The shooting occurred around 1:45 p.m. in front of the Obenshain Center, located in the 100 block of East Grace Street in downtown Richmond, according to local outlet WTVR.
In a post on X, the Virginia GOP said Richmond first responders arrived within minutes and confirmed that all party staff members were safe.
"Around 1:45 p.m. today, a woman was shot immediately in front of The Obenshain Center, the offices of the Republican Party of Virginia. City of Richmond first responders were at the scene within minutes. All Republican Party of Virginia staff are safe," the post read.
The party also said it had no indication that the shooting was connected to its operations.
"The proximity of this event notwithstanding, we have no indication that the shooting was related to the operations of the Republican Party of Virginia," the X post continued.
A former Tennessee police chief who investigated the murder that sent Christa Pike to death row recalled the convicted killer being "ruthless" and "almost giddy" while describing the crime to investigators, as Gov. Bill Lee signaled her death sentence is unlikely to change after she survived a failed execution.
Pike, 50, survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her by lethal injection on Sept. 30 and has since returned to prison, raising questions about whether the state could attempt to put her to death again.
Lee addressed Pike's fate Wednesday, saying she remains incarcerated under Tennessee law.
"I suspect her sentence will be the same as it was before unless determined otherwise by the courts," Lee said.
The governor's comments come as Pike's attorneys have called on Lee to commute her death sentence to life without parole following the failed execution.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow participant in a federal Job Corps program in Knoxville.
Former Knoxville Police Chief Phil Keith, who was involved in the investigation, recently recalled Pike's demeanor while she was being questioned about the killing in the New York Post documentary "No Mercy: Christa Pike Unraveled."
"I heard somebody that was ruthless, without any remorse, almost giddy," Keith said. "You know, she was describing what took place, like, almost the sense that she was bragging about it."
Keith confirmed the comments to Fox News Digital, calling them "spot on." He described Pike in two words: "Pure evil."
Keith also recalled Pike openly talking about the killing after returning to the Job Corps.
"Pike, when she got back, you know, immediately had to express her joy with killing Colleen," Keith said in the documentary. "And then the very next day in class, she bragged again, talking about how she killed Colleen. She showed her shoes that had blood on them."
Pike was 18 when she, her 17-year-old boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, and 19-year-old Shadolla Peterson were charged in Slemmer's killing. All four were participating in the Job Corps at the time, court records show.
The three took Slemmer to a secluded area on the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus, where her throat was cut multiple times, she was struck in the head with a large piece of asphalt and a pentagram was carved into her chest.
Pike later confessed to her role in the killing, according to court records.
More than three decades later, Tennessee attempted to carry out that sentence on Sept. 30 after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a last-minute stay issued by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The execution attempt failed after Pike received two doses of pentobarbital, and she was taken to a hospital.
She remained unconscious for days, and her attorneys at one point believed she was brain-dead and expected her to be taken off life support. Pike later regained consciousness and was discharged from the hospital before being returned to prison.
In a 2021 filing with the Tennessee Supreme Court, Pike's attorneys sought a certificate of commutation, pointing to her age at the time of Slemmer's murder as well as her history of childhood trauma, mental illness and brain damage.
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