ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester Police have identified the man fatally shot in a Walmart parking lot early Monday morning. Three others were also wounded in the shooting.
Rochester police say they responded to the scene around 1 a.m. for a report of shots fired. A short time later, four victims showed up at Rochester General Hospital in private cars. One of them, an 18-year-old man, later identified as Angel Gonzalez-Pagan, died shortly after he arrived and a 43-year-old man suffered critical injuries. A 31-year-old man and a 23-year-old man were also hit but police say they’re expected to be OK.
It happened after hundreds gathered at the Hudson Avenue store after midnight. According to police, fights broke out leading up to the shooting.
Investigators say more than 50 shots were fired from multiple guns during this incident. Evidence markers were placed across nearly the entire parking lot in several different locations.
One person captured the shooting on a cell phone. The incident was also captured by a drone at the gathering around 1 a.m.
This shooting is just the latest in a recent string of violent incidents in the city of Rochester. Captain Frank Umbrino challenged the community to be and do better.
“At what point in a child’s life do they learn it’s OK to shoot somebody?" asked Umbrino. "Or to harm somebody? Or go beyond that? How to ridicule somebody or harass somebody? At what point in a child’s life do they learn that that behavior is OK? Are they learning it at home? Are they learning it at school? Are they learning it from people that they’re seeing on TV? We want to get to the root cause, because that’s the root cause.”
Walmart and the Delta Sonic gas station across the street are closed until police clear the area. Only employees are being allowed into Walmart right now.
One employee says he wasn’t worried about coming to work Monday morning even though a shooting happened just hours earlier.
“The violence, the shootings, it’s not just Walmart on Hudson," the employee said. "It’s everywhere to me. This is nothing new to me. I don’t feel harmed, I don’t feel anything. This is normal to me.”
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren reacted to the shooting, calling the event "heartbreaking and appalling."
“As I have stated too many times, we cannot legislate morality," Warren said in a statement. "What happened this morning, culminating in the shooting of four people and the death of an 18-year-old is heartbreaking and appalling. I continue to support the efforts of our police department to quell this violence with the assistance of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Police. We must also continue efforts to provide all of our citizens, particularly our children, with alternatives -- most importantly, a quality education, access to jobs and support services. So every person, every child, can believe in their future and choose to pursue it. I continue to pray for all of the families affected and I ask all those of faith in our city to join me.”
The next presumptive mayor of Rochester, Councilmember Malik Evans, also issued a statement, urging anyone with information to come forward:
“I am heartbroken by the shooting that occurred in the Walmart parking lot last night," Evans said. "We are seeing too many deaths at the hands of gun violence in Rochester. Stopping the cycle of violence must be the priority of everyone in the community. Our younger generation cannot live in fear. They deserve to live in safety and peace. Policy changes only go so far, and must be coupled with changes at an individual and community level so we do not see violence like we have seen over the past 6 months. I urge anyone with information on this tragedy to come forward. My thoughts are with the families of the victims of last night’s shooting, and I will continue to pray for peace in our city.”
Police are asking anyone who has information about the shooting to contact them or if they have video of what happened to turn it over to authorities.
Correction: Police initially reported that a 15-year-old girl was hit by gunshots, but later confirmed that she was not injured, and taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. A 31-year-old male victim was not previously reported.