Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on August 22, 2023
Rochester Police are investigating an apparent drive-by double shooting in the city’s downtown area in broad daylight Monday afternoon. Rochester police said around 1 p.m., an unknown number of suspects fired several rounds from a vehicle in front of the corner store at 72 St. Paul Street, near the RTS transit center. Two people seemingly uninvolved in the incident were struck by the gunfire, officers said. One of the victims, a 44-year-old man, is being treated for life-threatening injuries. The other, a 32-year-old man, is expected to survive, police said. Officers began to pursue the vehicle involved in the shooting, before one of the occupants jumped out and fled on foot in the city’s northwest area. Eventually, one person was detained and remains in custody as police continue to investigate. This incident comes less than 24 hours after a 14-year-old boy was shot at the same address on St. Paul Street. The City of Rochester is closing that corner store until further notice, claiming the location is a “significant contributing factor” to problems being experienced in the neighborhood.
Police are investigating four burglaries in Rochester early in the morning Monday. Skip’s On The Ridge and Donuts Delite on West Ridge Road were both hit just before 2:30 a.m. The owners at each location said there was damage and property was taken. Donuts Delite’s owner said two registers were taken. Alan Depasquale, the owner of Skip’s, called the burglary “annoying and disappointing.” He estimated around $150 worth of products were stolen, and anticipates spending between $500 and $1,000 to repair the front door. Meanwhile, just about 15 minutes prior, the Irondequoit Police Department said the Subway and Cricket store on East Ridge Road were broken into around 2:15 a.m. Nothing was taken from the Subway, but a cash register was taken from the Cricket Wireless store, officers said. Irondequoit police said the same suspect was involved in both incidents.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office with the help of Niagara County Sheriff’s Air 1 helicopter, has located a missing woman on Carton Road in the Town of Murray. 67 Linda Donovan went missing about 12:30p.m. on Monday, and was last seen in a wooded area with her boyfriend who said she wandered off and couldn’t be located. Donovan was found by Niagara County Sheriff’s Air-1 helicopter walking in a swampy area about 4:30p.m., according to Sheriff Christopher Bourke. Donovan was transported out of the area to the roadway by deputies, Murray Joint Fire EMS and Monroe Ambulance for evaluation.
Authorities are investigating a crash on Rt 20 Monday. The Pavilion Fire Department said a dump truck was heading south on South Street Road in Pavilion, when it blew through a stop sign and crashed into a tractor trailer traveling east on State Route 20. Crews said the driver of the tractor trailer was taken to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. The dump truck driver suffered minor injuries and did not receive any treatment. Over 100 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from the fuel tanks of both vehicles, but the spill was contained, and there is no threat to the area’s water supply. State police are investigating the crash.
In May and June everyone was talking about it being the hottest summer on record and how the Northeast was going to be sweltering all season. Well, there was only one day over 90 degrees in all of July and August so far. July 6th hit 91 degrees and was the only day labeled as “hot” by meteorologists. The south and midwest hit record highs this year but cold fronts and rains kept New York from getting the same treatment. Most likely we won’t be seeing above 80 for the rest of the Summer.
Gas prices seem to be stabilizing a little south of 4 dollars according to AAA. Monday the average price of a gallon of regular in Batavia was 3.85 which is down 2 cents from a week ago and up 26 cents from last month. The average in New York was 3.92 and the national average is also 3.85. High temperatures in Texas and the hurricane season may drive prices up as we head towards September but fewer people on the road will keep it from jumping too much.
