Categories: Politics

What we know about a deadly shooting in Rochester, New York

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A police officers unrolls caution tape at a crime scene. | Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Two people are dead, 16 injured after a shooting at a party. No suspects have been taken into custody.

A shooting broke out at a party in Rochester, New York on Saturday morning, leaving two people dead and at least 16 other attendees injured, according to police reports.

The shooting occurred at what authorities described as an “illegal, unsanctioned house [party]” shortly after midnight, with the attendee count exceeding coronavirus restrictions. Rochester police responded to the scene. Authorities reported that two victims had been fatally shot while at least 14 other partygoers had been injured during multiple rounds of gunfire. So far no suspects have been identified or taken into custody, and an investigation is underway.

“16 victims is unheard of,” interim police chief Mark Simmons stated at a press conference Saturday morning. “For our community, who is right now going through so much, to have to be dealt [this] tragedy needlessly … it’s shameful, and we’re going to do everything we can as a department to bring those people involved to justice.”

The shooting comes amid ongoing protests in Rochester throughout September over the recently revealed role of police in the death of Daniel Prude in March. Bodycam footage of police restricting Prude’s breathing, who was mentally distressed but nonviolent, ultimately led to the firing of the city’s police chief, and the resignation of a number of top level police officers.

This is a developing story. Here’s what we know, and don’t, so far.

ABC affiliate WHAM reported that the shooting took place in a residential neighborhood.
Two victims, one man and one woman, both approximately between the ages of 18 and 22, had been fatally wounded at the scene.
14 other victims were shot, suffering non-life-threatening injuries — all were hospitalized. An additional two people were reportedly injured while fleeing the scene.
Police reported the shooter fired “several dozen” rounds into the crowd of party-goers.
The party, according to Simmons, was being held in violation of Covid-19 regulations. “This is yet another tragedy,” he stated at the Saturday press conference, “Where individuals are having these illegal, unsanctioned house parties taking place on these properties which, number one, is not safe because of Covid, because of the conditions, and then you add in alcohol and violence and it becomes a recipe for disaster.”
Smmons described the shooting as “chaotic,” with approximately 100 people scattering across the scene by the time police arrived. One witness described the shooting to WHAM as “an all-out war zone.”
Rochester mayor Lovely Warren released a statement on the shooting, asking the community for “prayers and support,” and “begging everyone to remain calm and exercise deep restraint as RPD investigates what happened here and seeks those responsible.”
Authorities have not identified any connection between the shooting and the ongoing protests. So far there’s no known motive, and it’s unclear if multiple perpetrators were involved.