Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren called Monday for Rochester to pull together, and for everyone to think twice before engaging in an act of violence. At the same time, Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary said he will target additional officers and resources into parts of the city where violence has taken place, and target people who may feel inclined to retaliate.
Both spoke after a weekend shooting at Clifford Avenue and Miller Streets that killed one man and sent two others to the hospital.
The mayor said we don’t want to lose another life to senseless gun violence, especially during the coronavirus pandemic when every doctor and nurse who has to attend a shooting victim is likely being pulled from a COVID-19 patient. She asked the community to make better choices.
Mayor Warren also defended her decision to let people hold a vigil on Clifford Avenue for the shooting victim. A crowd gathered for the vigil in contradiction to social distancing guidelines.
Chief Singletary said there’s been an upturn in shooting incidents so far this year compared with 2019, but he said there’s another trend that people, especially those with violence on their minds, should note. Arrests in shooting incidents have been coming regularly, one to two days after the shootings took place.
