Police: 2 dead, 14 hurt at Rochester party

ROCHESTER, N.Y. >> Gunfire at a backyard party killed two people and wounded 14 others early Saturday in Rochester, New York, a city that has been roiled in recent weeks by outrage over the suffocation death of Daniel Prude.

As many as 100 people were at the gathering when the shooting started just before 12:30 a.m., acting Police Chief Mark Simmons told reporters.

Police were still trying to piece together who opened fire and why. Simmons said it was too early to say whether more than one person was shooting or whom the intended targets may have been.

A man and woman, estimated to be in their late teens or early 20s, were killed, Simmons said. Their names weren’t immediately released. The 14 wounded by gunfire were not believed to have life-threatening injuries.

The acting chief said no suspects were in custody.

“This is truly a tragedy of epic proportions,” Simmons said in a news conference held near the home. “I mean 16 victims is unheard of, and for our community, who’s right now going through so much, to have to be dealt with this tragedy, needlessly, for people who decide to act in a violent manner is unfortunate and shameful.”

The shooting comes as the city in Western New York has been rocked by protests over Prude’s death, caused when Rochester police officers put a hood over his head to stop him from spitting, then pushed his face into the pavement and held him down until he stopped breathing. The details of Prude’s death only emerged this month, leading to allegations of a coverup and calls for the arrests of the officers involved.