A 3-year-old boy was critically injured when he was shot in the head as part of a quadruple shooting late Monday night as a violent holiday weekend concluded in Buffalo.
A total of 21 people were shot in 13 incidents of gun violence over the three-day Fourth of July weekend, according to the Buffalo Police Department. None of the shootings were fatal.
"I know the numbers are horrible right now," Captain Jeff Rinaldo said at a late morning briefing Tuesday. "The numbers are higher than we’ve seen in years, but we will fix this. It’s just a matter of community involvement and certain other things that are in process."
The most recent shooting incident was the most serious, as a 3-year-old boy was in critical condition Tuesday morning at Oishei Children's Hospital after a shooting on Donovan Drive in Buffalo's MLK Park neighborhood.
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The boy was among a large group of people gathered outside in a courtyard area watching fireworks just after 11 p.m. Monday when someone began shooting, according to police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge. Donovan Drive is just south of East Ferry and is part of the Ferry Grider Homes, apartments run by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority.
The other victims included two Buffalo men, ages 28 and 27, who were in stable condition at Erie County Medical Center, as well as a 28-year-old Buffalo man who was treated and release after his foot was grazed by a bullet.
Rinaldo said that police are searching for a person of interest in the Donovan Drive shooting, a Black male wearing pink pants and a dark-colored T-shirt.
"We are really hoping that someone in the pubic can help us identify this person of interest," Rinaldo said.
Rinaldo said there was also an 8-year-old shot in one of the weekend shootings.
The holiday weekend saw gun violence spike nationwide. CNN reported that there were 400 shootings over the holiday weekend, with more than 150 of them fatal, citing Gun Violence Archive data.
Shootings continue to be up dramatically in Buffalo thus far this year. In the first six months of 2021, Buffalo had seen 177 individuals shot, a 64% increase over the 10-year average of 108. There were 120 shooting victims in the first half of 2020 and 78 in the first six months of 2019.
Buffalo’s Fourth of July weekend included six people shot in five shootings on Saturday, five people shot in three incidents on Sunday and six people shot in three shootings on Monday.
The following information is from Buffalo Police Department reports; it has yet to release details on two of the shooting incidents:
Saturday (five shootings, six victims)
• Butler Avenue, just after midnight – 46-year-old Buffalo man while at an outdoor gathering (stable).
• Clinton Street, just before 1 a.m. – 19-year-old Hamburg woman while standing outside (stable).
• Cambridge Avenue, just after 2:45 p.m. (double shooting) – two men (both stable); ages, hometowns, circumstances not provided.
• Strauss Street, about 9:30 p.m. – drive-by shooting of 25-year-old Amherst woman while a group of people gathered outside for an outing including fireworks (injuries appeared non-life threatening).
• Woeppel Street, just before 10:45 p.m. – one man while inside an apartment (stable); age, hometown not provided.
Sunday (three shootings, five victims)
• Beverly Road, just after midnight – 25-year-old Buffalo woman while at a house party (stable).
• Ellicott Street, around 12:30 a.m. (triple shooting) – 28-year-old Cheektowaga man, 32-year-old Buffalo man, 21-year-old Buffalo woman outside of Deep South Taco (all stable); shooting occurred after an argument and fight related to an attempted robbery outside the restaurant. One of the shooting victims had attended the Beverly Road party before it was broken up; many at that party then headed to Deep South Taco.
• Northampton Street, just before midnight – drive-by shooting, 39-year-old Buffalo man while at a party (stable).
Monday (three shootings, six victims)
• Tifft and Hopkins streets, just after 1:20 a.m. – 33-year-old Tonawanda man (stable), circumstances not provided.
• Olympic and Warwick avenues, just before 2 a.m. (double shooting) – 25-year-old Buffalo man and 38-year-old Buffalo man while a large group of people were gathered outside (both serious).
• Donovan Drive, just after 11 p.m. (quadruple shooting) – 3-year-old boy (critical), 28-year-old Buffalo man (stable), 27-year-old Buffalo man (stable) and another 28-year-old Buffalo man (released from hospital after begin grazed in foot) while a large group of people were gathered outside in a courtyard watching fireworks.
Police ask anyone with information about any of the shooting incidents to call or text its confidential tip line at 716-847-2255.
Gun arrests are up 50% this year in Buffalo, Rinaldo said. He said law enforcement is doing a “comprehensive review” of all existing gun cases to determine whether additional charges or federal charges are possible.
He also said that bail reform is playing a part in the increase in gun violence. Individuals facing gun charges are "walking out" because judges aren’t permitted to set bail in many cases, Rinaldo said. The “revolving door” has to be stopped, he said.
Meanwhile, the Buffalo Fire Department reported that it responded to 21 calls that were fireworks-related on the Fourth of July and the overnight hours into Monday.
There were two structure fires – at 411 Smith St. and 767 North Division St. – and several dumpster and garbage tote fires.
Three people suffered burns in connection with the fireworks-related calls: Two were being treated at Erie County Medical Center as of Monday afternoon; one had been treated and released from ECMC.
News Staff Reporter Aaron Besecker contributed to this report.
