Rochester police are investigating six homicides since Friday.

The recent string of incidents began on May 3, where a 54-year-old male was fatally shot on Avenue D. Then, on May 4, three people were shot on Lyell Avenue. Two males, a 29 year old and a 31 year old, were found dead at the scene. On May 5, at the Winter Garden apartments, a 68-year-old male was fatally stabbed. And finally, on May 6, on Rialto Street, a male and female in their 40s were fatally shot. A third person, a man in his 20s, was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.  

"What we need is for our community to come together with us," Rochester Police Chief David Smith said during a press conference Monday, "and help us stop these disputes from escalating to violence and murder. The RPD cannot solve these homicides alone and need members of the community support to hold people accountable."

All homicides are currently under investigation. Police are urging any and all people with information to come forward. 

"One of the things I'm increasingly concerns about in this city is the quickness in which heady disputes are escalating to violence," Mayor Malik Evans said. "It is extremely difficult for police to prevent the escalation of violence in private residences. I want folks to have a good time. This is a city we like to celebrate. But I think we have to look inward as a community to see how collectively we work to say this is not normal. I don't know what the trigger is."

"We're going to solve all of these cases, no ifs, ands or buts about it," he added. "We also have to make it very uncomfortable for people to carry illegal guns. We can kind of come back from fist fights, but if someone has a firearm, and their temper is hot and things escalate, you see what we saw this past weekend. There's no other word for us other than senseless."