Rochester Walmart parking lot shooting: Teen, 18, killed and 3 hurt amid deadly fight
Update: Rochester police on Monday, June 28, afternoon identified the slain man as Angel Gonzalez-Pagan of Rochester. Initially, police reported that a 15-year-old girl was also shot during the incident, but police later determined that she was not struck by a bullet. The teen was near the gunfire and was taken to the hospital by private vehicle as a precautionary measure.
Rochester Police Capt Frank Umbrino said that close to 50 gunshots were heard, with different sounds coming from different directions, implying multiple weapons were fired. It is not yet known if the people involved in the fight "had anything to do with the shots being fired" said Umbrino, or if those shot were involved in the dispute.
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ROCHESTER, NEW YORK: A gunfire erupted during a violent brawl in a crowded Walmart parking lot at around 1 AM on Monday, June 28. A teenager, 18, was killed and 3 others were injured. The shooting took place outside the Walmart SuperCenter on Hudson Avenue.
A phone recorded video by a bystander shows several young women brawling before a volley of gunfire erupted near them, making everyone run for their lives. A similar shooting incident was reported at Times Square, New York on June 27, in which, Samuel Poulin, a 21-year-old visitor, was hit in the back by a stray bullet after gunfire broke out after a reported dispute between two CD vendors. The incident occurred merely feet away from where a 4-year-old was injured in another shooting that occurred on May 8 where the shooter was later identified as Farrakhan Muhammad. On June 12, a man was shot dead and a woman was wounded in a barrage of gunfire outside a Bronx church in New York. Mass shootings have occurred at other Walmart stores, including a 2019 incident in El Paso that killed 23 people and injured at least 23 others.
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According to Police Capt Frank Umbrino, an 18-year-old was killed in the gunfire. The victim and 3 others were rushed to Rochester General Hospital via private vehicles. The boy, 18 was declared dead upon reaching. His name was not released by the authorities. According to police, a man, 43, suffered serious injuries and another man, 23, and a girl, 15, sustained injuries not considered life-threatening. A 31-year-old man also was brought to the hospital for non-threatening injuries to the upper and lower body Umbrino said during a press conference, "It's terrible. It's another tragedy we're facing, unfortunately. We've had way too many of them." He further added, "At what point in a child's life do they learn that it's okay to shoot somebody or to harm somebody?" Umbrino then urged parents to take an active part in their children's lives and set a good example for them. "Know where your kids are. Their life may depend on it. Be a parent, be a role model."
Police said, hundreds of people were gathered in the parking lot when the fight broke out. The store was closed at the time of the shooting. The bystander video shows women punching each other in the store parking lot which was crammed with people. About a minute in the recording, someone opened fire, making the person recording the video flee. Police claimed that about 20 gunshots were fired from multiple weapons. A statement issued by the officials said, "Investigators are still determining whether the combatants of the fight had anything to do with the shots being fired, or if the shots were fired as the result of a separate altercation in the parking lot."
So far, no arrests have been made in the case. Police have also not revealed the identities of a suspect (or suspects if any). The killing marks Rochester's 35th homicide of 2021.