Parents of 18-year-old girl killed in crossfire on Holland Street speak out

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Shanye Mootry was an innocent victim caught in the crossfire on Holland Street early Monday morning.

She was 18-years-old and just graduated from Greece Athena High School last year. When you walk into the home of her parents, you can feel the sadness. The pain her family is in is gut-wrenching.

“I feel like it wasn’t fair! It was senseless! It wasn’t called for,” Grace Harris said.

Shanye’s mom and dad, Grace Harris and Stewart Mootry, are devastated. The pain of losing their daughter is unbearable.

They never imagined this happening- losing their daughter to senseless gun violence. 

“Shanye was fun to be around. She liked to have fun. She could sing. We got her on video singing karoke, Harris said.

Now, her parents are grieving. 

“Today the Mootry family is just struck with grief, tomorrow it could be your family, it could be anybody’s sister or daughter that gets caught in the crossfire,” says Capt. Frank Umbrino with the Rochester Police Department.

Police believe Shanye and her friends attended a couple of parties on Sunday night. At the first party there was a shooting, no one got hurt.

Then about 50 to 75 people ended up at a parking lot of the Anthony Jordan Health Center, on Holland Street when two people started shooting at each other.  

Mootry says his daughter didn’t want to be there and told her friends she would wait in the car.

That’s when her life was cut short. She was hit by bullets in the car in the upper body.

The city is seeing more innocent victims getting hurt and killed when it comes to gun violence. 

“Everything dictates she had nothing to do with whatever altercation these two individuals were shooting at each other,” Umbrino said.

News10NBC’s Marsha Augustin spoke with Umbrino on Wednesday. You can watch the full interview below.

Shanye was a twin, college student, and employee. Their family just got back from a trip to the Bahamas. Her heartbroken parents are now looking for answers.

“She wasn’t one of those kids, she wasn’t one of them. I don’t think we can do this. I can’t,” Mootry said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact 911 or The Major Crimes Unit at 585-428-7157.