A Rochester, New York, police officer was fatally shot Thursday evening and another officer was injured after a gunman opened fire at them.
The Rochester Police Department said a male suspect approached the two officers and started shooting at them in an area on Bauman Street, WHEC, an NBC affiliate based in Rochester, reported. The officers were on duty at the time of the shooting.
One officer was transported to Rochester General Hospital and another was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital. It was later reported that one of the two officers died of his injuries. The condition of the other police officer was not immediately known.
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Police Chief Dave Smith identified the deceased officer as Anthony Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year-old veteran of the force, according to Fox News. Another officer, identified as Sino Seng, was shot in the lower body, Smith said Friday morning. Seng has been on the force for eight years.
The motive behind the shooting was not known. No arrests have been made so far in the case.
Smith called the deadly shooting a “cowardly ambush.” He said Mazurkiewicz and Seng “fell victim to the very violence in our community that we are trying to combat.”
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans issued a statement to WHAM-TV.
“This is a tragedy for our community,” Evans said. “I’m asking Rochester to pray for these officers and their families. They go out every day and put their lives on the line. And while there are some people who sit on the sidelines, these guys are on the front lines, trying to keep our community safe. We ask for prayers for these officers, their families, the RPD and the entire city of Rochester.”
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The City of Utica, New York Police Department, also reacted to the shooting.
“Our thoughts are with the family and fellow officers of the Rochester Police Department after the loss of one of their own this evening in a senseless shooting,” the statement read on Facebook. “We also pray for the healthy and speedy recovery of the second officer shot in the same incident.”