Residents in northwest Rochester neighborhood fed up after more than 50 bullets fly

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Sunday night sounded like a war zone in a quiet, peaceful Rochester neighborhood.

Neighbors on Mayflower Street in northwest Rochester say they counted 52 shots fired.

Somehow, no one was hit.

But five teenagers were arrested and four of them are minors. The neighbors told us that they’ve endured parties, loud music, and now gunfire. And they’re frustrated because they feel like there’s nothing they can do and no one takes them seriously.

We talked to a neighbor who asked that we not show her face or use her name. She says she feels helpless.

“We have jobs to go to and we get woken up in the middle of the night to either loud parties, people in our front yard, people shooting off rounds of guns. Fifty-two rounds fired this last Sunday,” she said.

The neighbor says she feels the police don’t take seriously their calls about parties and loud music. A video from April shows people out in the street.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “Isn’t there video of the police car driving through that crowd?”

Neighbor: “Yeah two cops drove through the crowd but did nothing. They were on their way to what they deemed a more important call that was down the block.”

On Monday, the Rochester Police Department SWAT team focused on a house on Mayflower Street.

“Ultimately, five people were detained from that house, including one individual who had come out of the house with a shotgun in their hands,” RPD Lt. Greg Bello said.

RPD filed nuisance points against the home. It’s adding more patrols to the neighborhood and the section captain stopped by Thursday.

“This is a nice, peaceful neighborhood and we want to make sure it stays that way,” Bello said.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “You own this house?”

Neighbor: “Yes.”

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “You pay taxes?”

Neighbor: “Yes.”

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “What do you want the city and the police to do?”

Neighbor: “This is the first city of about 10 cities I’ve lived in that when I pay taxes and I lived there that I don’t seem like I get taxpaying benefits. I don’t get cops when I need them.”

“I can’t get sleep at night in the property I’m paying for.”

Of the teenagers arrested, one was 18 and old enough to charge. He got a misdemeanor for criminal possession of a weapon and for firing the weapon. He wasn’t allowed to have a shotgun because RPD says he was convicted of a felony in January.