More Rochesterians live near fatal shootings, NYT database shows. Check your street here.

Kayla Canne, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
·2 min read
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Nearly 60% of Rochester residents lived near at least one fatal shooting in the last three years, according to new data analysis by the New York Times.

Gun violence rose to historic levels across the nation and here in Rochester in 2021. The devastation that follows a shooting reverberates through communities, impacting more than just those individuals struck by bullets.

The recent surge in killings nationwide included both neighborhoods already suffering from violence and new places, too, exposing more people to that devastation.

One in seven Americans would pass the location of a recent gun homicide while walking around their neighborhood, according to the New York Times data.

Gun violence in Rochester NY

In Rochester, those chances are even greater with more than half the city exposed to fatal shootings in their neighborhoods. That figure is up from 39% in the three years prior to the pandemic ― and the analysis does not include the hundreds of non-fatal shootings that take place in Rochester neighborhoods each year.

The New York Times used data from police, news media and the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive to map every gun homicide in the United States since 2020. They drew a quarter-mile circle around each incident to determine how many people lived in close proximity to the killings.

More: Homicide in Rochester dropped last year. Can efforts get us to pre-pandemic levels?

New York Times database maps gun violence in U.S.

You can use the tool on the NYT website to search for your address and see how gun violence has changed in your neighborhood.

An expanded database shows a heat map of fatal shootings, how they have changed in various neighborhoods, and the racial makeup of areas affected by gun violence.

Retha Rogers (left), Wanda Ridgeway (center), and Marcella Cunningham (right) look at sketches of gun violence victims part of an art exhibit outside of the Rochester Contemporary Art Center last year titled, "Who Will Be Next?." Each of the three women lost a family member to gun violence.
Retha Rogers (left), Wanda Ridgeway (center), and Marcella Cunningham (right) look at sketches of gun violence victims part of an art exhibit outside of the Rochester Contemporary Art Center last year titled, "Who Will Be Next?." Each of the three women lost a family member to gun violence.

Rochester NY gun violence

Gun violence in Rochester is improving ― albeit slowly. The number of gun homicides and non-fatal shootings each fell by nearly one-third last year. But further progress remains elusive so far this year, with gun violence numbers from the first five months of 2024 mirroring that of 2023, according to the RPD Open Data Portal.

Seventy-one individuals in Rochester have been shot so far this year; 13 have died.

Last year, at this time, 72 people were victim to a shooting; 10 were killed.

— Kayla Canne reports on community justice and safety efforts for the Democrat and Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter @kaylacanne and @bykaylacanne on Instagram. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Gun violence map of Rochester NY neighborhoods