At least two dead and 14 injured at shooting party at Rochester party

Two people were killed and 14 others were injured at a party in the backyard of a house on Pennsylvania Avenue in Rochester, New York.

This was confirmed by the city police at dawn this Saturday.

Those killed are a man and a woman, ages 18 to 22, Acting Police Chief Mark Simmons said.

The shooting happened around 12:30 p.m., according to police

The other 14 injured were taken to two different hospitals;

Simmons said he did not believe any of them had life-threatening injuries.

In addition to these victims, two other people were injured while trying to flee.

"This is truly a tragedy of epic proportions," Simmons said near the crime scene, which appeared to span at least a block.

A witness told ABC News affiliate 13WHAM that the shots sounded "like the Vietnam War."

Officers responded to calls for the shooting and found "approximately 100 people" fleeing the scene, Simmons said.

Before the call, police were unaware of the party, he said.

"This is yet another tragedy where individuals are having these illegal and unauthorized parties on these properties which, number one, are unsafe due to COVID, due to the conditions. And then you add the alcohol and violence and it becomes into a recipe for disaster, "Simmons said.

The acting chief said there were no suspects in custody, adding that it is too early to know if there were multiple attackers.

The shooting comes as the city's police department has been rocked by the suffocation death of Daniel Prude.

Video taken in March and released by Prude's family on September 4 shows Prude handcuffed and naked with a hood to spit over his head, as one officer pushes his face against the asphalt while another officer presses a knee against his back. .

Officers held him for about two minutes until he stopped breathing.

They took him off life support a week later.

On Monday, Mayor Lovely Warren fired Police Chief La'Ron Singletary, who said he initially misled her about the circumstances of Prude's death.

The fatal shooting early Saturday does not appear to be related to Prude's death.

With information from AP and 13WHAM.