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Officer fatally shot, another wounded in Rochester

The officer killed has been identified as Anthony Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Three people, including two police officers, were shot Thursday night in the city of Rochester. One of the officers was killed in the line of duty.

Authorities say the shooting happened around 9:15 p.m. on Bauman Street. 

The officer killed has been identified as Anthony Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department. The other officer who was shot has been identified as Sino Seng, an eight-year veteran of the police department.

In a press conference Friday morning, Rochester Police Chief David Smith said the officers were "attacked in a cowardly ambush."

"Officer Mazurkiewicz was shot at least once in the upper body. He was transported to Strong Hospital where despite heroic efforts, he passed away," Smith said.

According to Smith, Seng was shot in the lower body and was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital where he was treated and released. Seng is currently recovering at home with his family.

A female bystander was also shot. Smith says the woman, who has not been identified, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

"I am angry and upset because all too often we are seeing over and over again blatant disregard for life," said Rochester Mayor Malik Evans.

No arrests had been made as of Friday morning. Smith said "the full force of the region’s law enforcement" was being deployed "to bring whoever is responsible for this heinous act to justice."

The officers were shot the same day that Mayor Malik Evans declared a "gun violence state of emergency" after a recent spate of shootings in Rochester, a city of about 200,000 on the shores of Lake Ontario.

"Tony Mazurkiewicz could have easily retired, but he chose to continue going on the streets because he didn’t want folks in our neighborhoods to be held hostage by the very cowards that are wreaking havoc in our community," Evans said in a written statement Friday.

"Not only am I sad for the Mazurkiewicz family — and we pray for the speedy recovery of Sino Seng — I am angry. And upset. Because all too often, we are seeing a blatant disregard for life," he said.

Evans said the city had, before Mazurkewicz's death, recorded 41 homicides this year and more than 200 people had been shot. The homicide count was one less than at the same time the previous year. The mayor said recent shootings were "directly tied to a deadly cycle of disputes and retaliations."

In November 2021, the mayor at the time, Lovely Warren, declared a similar state of emergency to combat violence. The move clears the way for expanded resources and partnerships with other law enforcement agencies.

"Yesterday morning, at 11 am, I was asked by the media 'how dangerous is it out there for the officers of the Rochester Police Department?'" Smith wrote in a statement Friday. “My response was that every day, the men and women of this department leave home, not knowing if they are going to return home at the end of their shift.”

Mazurkiewicz, he said, was killed 10 hours later.

You can watch the full press conference with Rochester Police Chief David Smith and Mayor Malik Evans in the player below:

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