BUFFALO (WBEN) - As WBEN begins a week-long series and focus on violence involving guns in Buffalo and nationwide, a shooting on Lasalle Avenue Saturday night left one man dead and two others injured in what continues to be one of the most violent years in the history of Buffalo.
Detectives say three males were struck by gunfire during some type of gathering. A 29 year old male was declared deceased at the scene, while a 25-year-old and a 26-year-old male are listed in stable condition at ECMC. Police noted that the shooting appears targeted.
"We have seen a drastic increase this year, probably the highest increase we've had in well over a decade, in the number of shooting incidents that have occurred in the city," said Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo late last week. "Obviously, it's very concerning."
Local law enforcement agencies have been working in recent weeks to develop programs to curb the rash of gun violence.
On Friday, US Attorney JP Kennedy announded the results of the first two weeks of the Federal Violence Prevention and Elimination Response (VIPER) Task Force, which is a 60-day surge aimed at removing violent gun offenders from the streets of Rochester and Buffalo.
For the period between July 7 and July 22, there were 128 total arrests, with 45 firearms related arrests and 22 illegal firearms seized.
WBEN reached out to the US Attorney's Office for comment, but a spokesperson said they're deciding to let the results speak for themselves.
“All residents in both Rochester and Buffalo deserve, and are entitled, to feel safe in their own homes,” said Kennedy in a released statement. “Our efforts are designed to remove the worst of the worst from the streets of our communities, and the guns from their hands, so that residents can do just that. The tremendous coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement combined with the outstanding cooperation we have received from the community have combined thus far to produce some pretty remarkable results.”
Last week, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz declared gun violence to be a public health crisis in the county, citing data from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for 2020, showing that Erie County led all other New York counties in violent crimes committed with a firearm per capita.
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While Rinaldo hopes these various initiatives and increased funding to local peace organizations work, he also believes there needs to be a shift in state legislation.
"Until there's some changes, we feel, with bail reform and the ability for police to detain people that are caught carrying illegal guns and keep them in custody, I think that it's going to be difficult to really put a dent into a lot of this violence," he said.
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