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(Editor’s note: The following was printed Tuesday in the Gazette and contains little new information. It is reprinted here because it was shared by Yahoo with no paywall and not everyone has the capacity to go to the Gazette Website and typ the URL into Archive.is)
By Rick Pfeiffer
Niagara Gazette
Niagara Falls police have identified the victims of a pair of homicides over the holiday weekend and said Monday that their investigation is moving forward rapidly.
Jayla Brown, 19, of the Falls, has been identified as the victim of a shooting at the intersection of Highland and Fairfield avenues at about 1 a.m. Sunday.
Jalin Rios, 22, also of the Falls, was identified as the victim of a shooting outside of the Bakery, a former bar in the 3000 block of Niagara Street about two hours later.
Early Monday morning, City of Niagara Falls Code Enforcement officers posted a Cease and Desist Notice on the entrance door to the Bakery, effectively closing it. The notice cited "excedence [sic] of occupancy" as the reason for shuttering the Bakery's operations.
The bar has reportedly been operating without a liquor license and was being rented to various "promoters" to stage events.
Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the police investigation of the homicides said Criminal Investigation Division (CID) detectives have received an influx of "tips" in their search for the gunmen involved in the incidents. Those sources also indicated that evidence collected and information gathered so far suggests that the shootings are not connected.
A second victim of the gunfire outside the Bakery was treated for non-life-threatening wounds and released from Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center (NFMMC). That victim, a 20-year-old male, has reportedly not provided CID investigators with "useful information" about the shooting that left him wounded.
The violence has left Falls City Council Chair Brian Archie shaken once again. Archie, in a community letter sent two weeks ago, following shooting incidents in the early morning hours after the Niagara Falls High School Senior Prom, had expressed concerns about a growing number of incidents involving teens and guns.
"It seems like that was a self-fulfilling prophecy," Archie said on Monday. "My heart aches because I know these families. I know the impact (the latest shootings) have had."
Archie has scheduled a pair of Community Grief Support events for today at the Doris Jones Resource Center, from 4 to 7 p.m. and Thursday at the Bloneva Bond School Family Resource Center, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to allow residents to come out and try to seek solutions for the gun violence.
"The question people keep asking is, 'What can we do?' " Archie said. "I don't think trying to place blame does any good. It's not about a community center door being closed. It's not about the mayor. It's about a community that needs to wrap its arms around (youth gun violence). I'm hoping we can get in a space together to have a conversation about community safety."
Falls police were first dispatched to the scene of a large street party in the area of Highland and Fairfield avenues after 911 calls to dispatchers of "shots fired." As officers arrived, they found people running from the area.
