Buffalo police said Wednesday they have a person in custody they believe is "responsible" for the quadruple shooting Monday night in the Ferry Grider Homes that critically injured a 3-year-old boy.
The person, whose name was not released, had not yet been charged as of Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Police expect to file charges against the person, and said the investigation is ongoing.
Police officials credited information provided by members of the community for the progress in the investigation.
"A 3-year-old child was shot in head for doing nothing more than watching fireworks with his family and the community responded," said Buffalo Police Capt. Jeff Rinaldo. "The number of tips and phone calls and cooperation was outstanding. It allowed us, as an example, to show that when the community and police work together, we can bring people to justice that are responsible for these crimes."
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In addition to tips, police also said video footage obtained from cameras in the city's SafeCam program – a registry of security cameras at residences and businesses – helped with the investigation, as well as "other technology" and assistance from other agencies.
Police officials declined to elaborate on what was meant by "other technology."
Monday night's shooting on Donovan Drive capped a three-day Fourth of July weekend that saw 21 people injured in 13 shootings. It was a violent stretch amid an already increased period of shootings, both in Buffalo and across the United States.
In the first six months of 2021, 177 people have been shot in Buffalo, according to the latest Buffalo Police Department data. That’s a 64% increase over the 10-year average of 108, according to a Buffalo News analysis of police data.
Buffalo police have increased patrols in areas that are seeing increased gun violence, Rinaldo said, and the department is also boosting its outreach efforts.
Shooting victims are typically adults, but sometimes they're teens and few cases involve children.
Police acknowledged investigators making this level of progress in the investigation in only a couple of days is atypical, but in cases when children are the victims, there tends to be more help from the community.
"Any time we’ve seen a child injured by violence, we have seen a community outpouring of people who’ve just had enough of it and they come together and they work with us," Rinaldo said.
Nationally, the rate at which police solve nonfatal shootings is typically low.
About 11% of all shootings in Buffalo that took place over the first six months of the year had been solved as of July 1, according to the latest police department data.
Out of 151 fatal and nonfatal shooting incidents between Jan. 1 and June 30, 15 resulted in arrests and two were considered solved because of the death of the suspect.
Unsolved shootings harm communities on a number of levels, from a loss of trust and faith in police to leaving perpetrators on the streets to commit more crime, according to experts who study the subject.
Police ask anyone who may have information about Monday's quadruple shooting or any other unsolved shooting to call or text the department's confidential tip line at 716-847-2255.
