VCU community reacts to Tyler Binsted’s death

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.”