Active shooter investigation in Chili sparked by messages regarding a dismissed employee
On Friday morning, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office responded to a possible active shooter at 1300 Scottsville Road, Chili, home to Rochester Gas & Electric, and 1200 Scottsville Road.
However, before 1 p.m., the agency said there was no evidence of such a threat.
“There is no active shooter that we could report of. There is no active crime scene. There was no shooting,” Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said Friday afternoon at a press briefing after the situation had been resolved.
Agencies including the sheriff's office, the FBI, the New York State Police Department and the Rochester Police Department swarmed Scottsville Road between I-390 and Paul Road and shut it down to traffic. It reopened around 1:45 p.m.
While the situation unfolded, multiple buildings in the area were searched, occupants were evacuated, and a K9 sweep was conducted.
Baxter said the emergency was sparked by Facebook messages that circulated Friday morning about an RG&E employee who had been dismissed two weeks ago over "personnel issues." The incident had fueled workplace rumors since then, he said.
“It’s like that phone tree that we all played in college where one person says it, another person says it, the story gets (exaggerated) a little,” he said.
A call at 8.32 a.m. Friday from RG&E set into motion an investigation about whether the former employee was on-site and a threat, and subsequently concerns were raised about possible activity at 1200 Scottsville Road, which houses an FBI office and part of the county sheriff's task force.
Baxter said his office was in contact with the dismissed RG&E employee, that the person did not represent an active threat and that follow-up would likely take a couple of days.
"The best possible outcome is no one is injured," he said.
Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Active shooter investigation on Scottsville Road turns up nothing
