Rochester police ID victims of mass shooting, say 40 rounds were fired in gunfight

Two 19-year-old Rochester Central School District graduates were identified as the victims who were shot to death in the mass shooting in the city early Saturday morning. 

Jaquayla Young and Jarvis Alexander were killed after at least "three or four" people engaged in a gunfight at a house party on Pennsylvania Avenue, Capt. Frank Umbrino said at a press conference from the Public Safety Building on Saturday evening.

Fourteen additional shooting victims were taken to local hospitals and two people were injured while fleeing the scene. All of the victims are between the ages of 17 and 23 years old. 

Young, who graduated from East High, and Alexander, a University Prep alumnus, were not the intended targets, according to Umbrino.

"We have innocent victims that were attending a party with a few friends and unfortunately they lost their lives as a result," Umbrino said. "It's heart-wrenching when you have innocent people getting killed. I just hope, a month from now, everybody remembers their names." 

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Umbrino said a small, invite-only gathering went awry when people from two separate house parties nearby started to "infiltrate" the home where the shooting occurred. Between 100 and 200 attendees gathered at the home in the Marketview Heights neighborhood. An argument escalated and multiple people "took out handguns and starting firing" at each other.

More than 40 rounds were fired by the suspects in the gunfight, which witnesses told police lasted more than a minute. Police recovered one handgun at the scene but do not believe it was one of the weapons used in the shooting.

Umbrino described police officers running toward the scene and carrying wounded to get medical treatment.

"The officers did an outstanding job," Umbrino said. 

The Rochester Police Department was assisted by New York State Police, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and the Irondequoit Police Department. No suspects are in custody. The investigation is ongoing and police need to pore over video, interview dozens of witnesses and analyze forensic evidence. 

Umbrino told reporters that New York state has some of the most strict gun laws in the nation but is still replete with gun violence. He said he's "not surprised" by an uptick in violence and criticized a lack of accountability and bail reform measures. 

“I’m disgusted," Umbrino said. “If I hear one more politician talk about what we need to do to stop the violence ... quite frankly, I’m going to vomit. 

"You have individuals getting locked up for having illegal handguns and being released from custody the next day. That’s disgusting. How does that happen?" 

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