Mayor of Rochester speaks about mass shooting in Maplewood Park
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said people should be able to enjoy the summer and use the parks without worrying about shootings.
When Wanda Ridgeway arrived, Denver Street was quiet.
The shooting that had struck three young people on Monday evening, August 12, had stopped. One teenager was dead. The crowd of neighbors who had rushed to their aid had mostly retreated into their homes. Some stood on their porches and shook their heads gravely as they met Ridgeway’s gaze.
She understood that feeling of defeat.
Gun violence in Rochester has declined so far this year. Fewer people have been shot compared to last year, but the number of murders has remained stable, according to Rochester police data.
“It doesn’t look like it,” Ridgeway said, although she knows the data better than most. As director of Rise Up Rochester, a nonprofit that provides comprehensive support to shooting victims and their families, she responds to nearly every homicide case.
More: “There is support out here”: To prevent murders, anti-violence groups walk the streets of Rochester
Gun violence in Maplewood Park still resonates
The city is still reeling from the mass shooting in Maplewood Park last month that left two people dead, five injured and dozens evacuated. Police have not yet arrested anyone. In June, six people were shot at a late-night gathering in Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.
In the triple shooting on Monday, 19-year-old Rukia Issack died and a 16-year-old boy is in critical condition. The third victim, a 15-year-old boy, was taken to hospital but is in stable condition, police said.
They were photographed next to a vibrant community garden where the first sunflowers were blooming.
By Tuesday afternoon, little was left of the tragedy that had occurred here less than 24 hours earlier. Crime scene tape hung from the edge of a nearby trash can. A small collection of candles stood next to small flowers stuck in fresh mulch.
“We’re losing far too many,” Ridgeway said. “Far too many.”
Silence contributes to the epidemic of gun violence in Rochester. Yet public distrust of the police remains.
At a press conference last week, Mayor Malik Evans said the city’s success in reducing shootings is little consolation for today’s victims of gun violence.
“We are still not satisfied because when people are shot in a park or people sitting on their porch, that is not something that should happen in a civilized society,” he said.
“How can I be satisfied when I just got off the phone with Tyasia Manning’s father?” Evans added, referring to one of the two women killed in the Maplewood Park shooting.
Efforts to end gun violence present a puzzling paradox: Police often need the community’s help to solve violent crimes, but Ridgeway acknowledged that the long history of police brutality against people of color makes many people hesitant to speak out. And every new story about a Black person wronged by police — whether in Rochester or in other cities near or far — deepens that divide.
More: “They don’t deserve your silence.” Investigations into the Maplewood Park massacre continue
“The community doesn’t really know what to do,” she said. “They don’t know who to trust. Every time we think we’re in a healing process (with the police), something happens.”
Sometimes the fear of retaliation from the shooter also prevents people from talking to the police.
The silence is in some ways contributing to the epidemic of gun violence in Rochester. Ridgeway said it sometimes feels like the community has given up on itself: “They go into their house and close the doors – until death knocks on their door. Then it’s like nobody’s doing anything. No, we’re trying.”
“Somewhere we have to start building trust,” she added. “I always tell people: you may not want to talk to the police, but I will. It is our duty. As civilians, it is our duty. We have to say what is happening.”
Former student gunned down in attack in Rochester
The shooting on Monday touched me deeply.
Issack was Ridgeway’s former student in the city’s school district. She remembered the girl’s eyes, which always seemed to be searching for love and connection. Issack often visited Ridgeway’s classroom for a quiet break.
On Tuesday, Ridgeway was thinking about the next generation. The Rochester Rams Pop Warner football team was practicing around the corner from School No. 33 on Parkside Avenue when the shots rang out on Denver Street.
“How do we make sure they feel safe?” Ridgeway asked himself.
— Anyone with information regarding a shooting is asked to call 911 or the RPD’s Major Crimes Unit at (585) 428-7157 or email [email protected]. You can reach Rise Up Rochester at (585) 454-3060 or [email protected].
— Kayla Canne covers public safety for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on police accountability, government surveillance and the impact of violence on individuals. Follow her on Twitter at @kaylacanne and on Instagram at @bykaylacanne. Contact her at [email protected].
