‘You almost feel like you can’t go out’: Mass shooting witness shares her story
Maplewood Park mass shooting. (Photo provided)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tyasia Manning and Phylicia Council were murdered in a mass shooting at Maplewood Park near the former Kodak Park. Five others were also shot.
Here is dash cam video of the gunfire:
There were hundreds of people in the park Sunday, but in a video of the mass shooting, you can hear one woman in a panicked voice wonder where her sister is.
Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean met that woman back at the scene of the crime.
She was hanging out in a grassy area, and as soon as the gunshots started, she said she ran off to the trees at the other end of the park. The trauma and fear are severe, and she asked to not show her face on camera but was willing to tell her story.
The woman says she arrived late but met up with her friends. But then, the gunshots.
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “When you hear those rounds start to go off, what do you do?”
Witness: “I am running. I ran. I ran up the hill until I got behind the tree.”
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “At one point, you’re calling for your sister. You can hear you call for your sister.”
Witness: “Yeah.”
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “Were you worried that she was shot?”
Witness: “Yeah, because you see a bunch of people down on the ground so I’m like, ‘Where’s my sister?'”
She found her sister giving first aid to the people who did get shot.
There were a lot of guns at the park. News10NBC studied the video and found two men running with their guns drawn. It’s unknown whether they shot or pulled the guns in self-defense.
You can hear the following exchange:
Woman: “Get you (expletive) behind the tree or something:”
Man: “I got my gun on me. I’m good.”
Woman: “That don’t mean you can’t get hit, boy!” (47)”
Justin Morris, with Untrapped Ministries, came to Maplewood Park on Tuesday.
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “Do you wonder how many guns are in our community on an average day?”
Justin Morris, Untrapped Ministries: “Thousands.”
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “Thousands?”
Justin Morris, Untrapped Ministries: “Thousands.”
No one has ever tried a real count, but a search of the Rochester Police annual reports show that between 2012 and 2022, the RPD confiscated 6.339 illegal handguns.
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “Do you ever get nervous or concerned about the number of guns that might be around?”
Witness: “I do. … It’s an open space and you don’t think. And now it just makes you think. You almost feel like you can’t go out and have a good time and not be worried that something like that will happen.”
Below is the breakdown of RPD gun confiscations. There was a spike in 2021, a year when 419 people in Rochester were shot and 62 were murdered.
2012-2022: 6,399
2022: 578
2021: 715
2020: 543
2019: 589
2018: 432
2017: 606
2016: 512
2015: 659
2014: 588
2013: 589
2012: 588
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