Rochester Police say that four people were shot, one fatally, in an incident early Tuesday morning on North Clinton Ave.
Officials say that at about 2:45 a.m., RPD was called to the Jackson R-Center outdoor basketball area for a report of a man shot. They say when they got there, they encountered 200-300 people gathered in the park for a non-sanctioned party.
Police say the crowd was still actively fighting when officers arrived and it was difficult to locate the victim. Officers eventually found a 24-year-old man at the edge of the basketball court suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his torso.
And RPD says that “due to the hostility of the crowd” an AMR ambulance could not safely respond so officers used a patrol car to get the victim from the scene to Strong Memorial while attempting life-saving measures. The victim, identified as Willie Wofford of Rochester, was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after he was brought there.
RPD also says that a man in his 30s arrived at Rochester General suffering from a gunshot wound; shortly after that, police say a woman in her 20s arrived at Strong via private vehicle with at least one gunshot wound. And a 4th victim also arrived by private vehicle at Strong with at least one gunshot wound.
Police say the injuries suffered by the three non-fatal gunshot victims appear to be non-life threatening at this time. They say all victims are residents of the city.
Authorities say that although the investigation is still in the early stages, it appears there was an altercation near the basketball court that escalated and resulted in multiple gunshots fired within the crowd.
Early Wednesday, RPD announced that they have charged one man with being one of the individuals firing a handgun into the crowd of party goers. He is identified as 30-year-old Quinjavis Lewis. He faces charges of reckless endangerment and also criminal weapons possession. Police say that additional charges may be presented to a grand jury. RPD says that Lewis was paroled from prison in April 2020 on a criminal weapons possession conviction.
Anyone with information or video of the incident is asked to call 911, the Major Crimes Unit at 585-428-7157, Crime Stoppers at 585-423-9300, or email MajorCrimes@cityofrochester.gov.
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans is calling for stepped up enforcement of illegal gatherings following the fatal shooting on North Clinton Ave. early Tuesday morning.
Evans said that members of the city’s Pathways to Peace outreach teams are also talking to people in the community and he urges anyone who was at the early Tuesday morning incident on North Clinton to seek peaceful resolutions to any disputes that may be lingering in the aftermath of that violence.
The mayor noted that from last Friday through Monday, there were 11 people shot on city streets, including three who died from their injuries.
He said that the common denominator in all these incidents is illegal guns, and Evans said that he "will continue to include my voice among the mayors and urban leaders calling for common-sense solutions to these very predictable challenges."
