City officials celebrated new milestones in their efforts to curb gun violence during an end-of-the-year public safety update, but insist a state of emergency is still necessary to achieve further progress.
Mayor Malik Evans first declared a gun violence state of emergency in July 2022 amid record-level shootings and gun homicides. He has renewed it monthly ― 39 times ― ever since.
Rochester state of emergency to continue
At City Hall on Nov. 6, days after securing a second term, Evans repeated a familiar refrain that he is “gratified” but not “satisfied” by the improvements seen in the last few years.
“The stories behind the continued violence keeps me frustrated,” he said. “What doesn’t show up in the numbers is the incredible level of absolutely irrational behavior that goes hand in hand with gun violence. Most of the shootings we see are between people who know each other, and many of these shootings are over minor disagreements, petty arguments or ridiculous insults.”…