Rochester Mayor Declares Emergency Amid Gun Violence Spike

Police in Rochester, New York, are investigating a string of fatal shootings that came just hours after Mayor Lovely Warren declared a local state of emergency to combat rising gun violence.

The recent killings, including three within a 12-hour period, brought the city’s annual tally of homicides to 74 – the most since 70 people were slain in 1993, the Democrat & Chronicle reports.

The outbreak in violence included a shootout in a parking lot late Friday that killed one man and left another with serious injuries. Police said almost two dozen shots were fired.

Warren’s emergency declaration clears the way for Rochester to petition state officials for more resources to combat the violence, including more state troopers.