BUFFALO, N.Y. — At a complex on Oakmont Avenue on Buffalo's East Side, police say the 16-year-old boy shot and killed Friday, had been attending a graduation party. Investigators believe there had been an altercation nearby, and the teen was randomly hit by gunfire, shot into a crowd of about one hundred people.
About 24 hours later, on Buffalo's West Side, a 25-year-old man was shot on Greenwood Place. While police would not release many details, investigators do believe the victim was the shooter's intended target.
Buffalo Police spokesperson, Capt. Jeff Rinaldo says they have no reason to believe the shootings are related, "No, none whatsoever."
Both shooting victims died at ECMC. Police are not releasing their names, yet.
Rinaldo said they already have persons of interest in both cases.
Local anti-violence groups praise the police department for working with them and the local communities so that people feel comfortable coming forward with information.
"I want to make it clear that law enforcement has been doing a tremendous job in terms of community engagement activities and kind of working with the community to build trust," said Pastor James Giles, coordinator of Buffalo Peacemakers, director of SNUG, and president and CEO of Back to Basics Outreach Ministries.
"Our level of cooperation has noticeably increased," Rinaldo said.
According to Buffalo Police Department numbers, the two homicides bring the total year-to-date gun violence deaths to 16. That's down a third from the number of incidents at this time last year, when there were 24 homicides.
While that's an improvement, Giles said they need to keep up the outreach.
"They really have no idea what it means to take someone's life, they're not even processing that, unfortunately," Giles said. "What we're trying to do through the SNUG program and Peacemakers program and other anti-violence programs...we're trying to educate them...reach out to them before it happens."
It's not uncommon to hear law enforcement say that when the weather gets nice, more people are out and about, and that can lead to some deadly interactions.
However the Buffalo Police Department and the anti-violence groups who spoke to 2 On Your Side say this year's lower gun violence numbers, aren't because we had a late start to the warmer weather in 2019; but rather it's due to better community relations, outreach and education.
If you have information about either of these recent shootings, you're asked to call or text the Buffalo Police Department's confidential tip line at (716) 847-2255.
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