GATES, N.Y. — Gates Police say a series of carjackings across Monroe County has now turned deadly.

Gates Police are investigating an attempted carjacking turned homicide on Buell Road Wednesday morning.

Police say two suspects shot an unidentified 71-year-old man in the upper torso and the victim later died at the hospital.

Gate Police Chief James VanBrederode tells Spectrum News he believes it’s tied to a recent string of car thefts in other communities in Rochester, Greece, Ogden, Webster and Irondequoit.

"We do want to get a message out on behalf of law enforcement," said VanBrederode. "We're very concerned about the safety of our residents. This is a very dangerous situation. Again, when this first started seven to eight days ago, the violence has continued to escalate to what we have today where someone was shot and killed. That makes this extremely violent, very dangerous and if there's a message that should be given out to all communities that this is a problem and until we get these people, or this person, in custody, this is going to be a problem for the community."

With the recent car thefts, Greece Police also provided tip on how motorists can protect themselves.

They explain the car thieves are known to rear-end vehicles at low speed, then rob victims at gunpoint or follow them home and rob them there.

Authorities encourage drivers to stay in their vehicles, move to a safe location and call 911.

"I think people are worried about, 'oh I'm leaving the scene of an accident,'" said Greece Sgt. Jared Rene. "No. We're not worried about that at this point. We want them to get to a safe place, call us and we can investigate from there. Even if it's an actual accident, we can investigate from there. We just don't want people putting themselves at undue risk."

Chief VanBrederode also pointed out it would be best to surrender your vehicle if left with no other option.

A task force has been together to investigate the car thefts. Anyone with information is urged to call 585-429-8275.