Salahuddin Floyd Jr. pleads not guilty, city officials speak about his arrest and gun violence

ROCHESTER N.Y. (WHEC) — Mayor Malik Evans and Interim Rochester Police Chief David Smith spoke about solutions to prevent gun violence at a conference about the arrest of Salahuddin Floyd Jr., accused of murdering a 17-year-old after he walked off the bus.

Floyd was arrested on May 19 after an investigation from the U.S. Marshals Task Force, which is a collaboration between federal marshals, the Rochester Police Department, Monroe County deputies, and others.

He is accused of murdering Bryson Simpson as he was returning home from Edison Tech High School in early March. Simpson and his three friends were walking down the street when a car came around the corner, firing at Simpson.

Fylod pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon in front of a county court judge on Tuesday.

Mayor Evans said that programs for job opportunities, gun violence prevention groups, and community support are key to preventing "nonsense homicides."

Chief Smith said he is glad that police are pursuing justice but is angry that the murder happened.

"We need to get to a point where this doesn’t come on our table at all because I’ve said many, many times, arresting our way out of this problem is not the way we are going to get out of this situation," Smith said.

Smith said that cooperation from the community was important for identifying a suspect in the murder.