Rochester, N.Y. — It has been one month since one of the most violent days in Rochester’s history and still no arrests have been made.
On September 19, a mass shooting at a house party claimed the lives of two teenagers and injured 14 others.
One of those fatal victims was 19-year-old Jarvis Alexander, a UPrep Rochester graduate who had a love for track and field and his family. He was studying business at Alfred University when he and Jaquayla Young, also 19, were killed.
“He was a shining star. So many people were rooting for him,” said his father, James Alexander. “He was energetic. He had a personality that people pretty much gravitated towards, you know? Everyone wanted to be around him. He was a light to everyone who knew him.”
Alexander learned his son was dead in an early morning phone call. It’s still a painful memory.
“Once I got that phone call, it was just the most devastating news that I got. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare,” he says. “For me, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was an innocent bystander. I don’t feel that he was targeted. And for me, I just have to continue my best to try to deal with the fact that my son isn’t here.”
The Rochester Police Department says the investigation is still “progressing” and that they are sorting through “voluminous evidence” and working with the Monroe County Crime Lab at this time.
The department also tells 13WHAM that even though more than 100 people attended the party, the number of people who have come forward so far has been “disappointing.”
Alexander admits he is frustrated that an arrest has not yet been made. However, he has faith that police will find out who killed his son.
“Justice. Simply, simply justice. Whoever was accountable needs to be held accountable. It’s just that simple for me. Maybe that won’t give me the closure that I need but it helps. Any little bit helps,” he says.
In the meantime, he is focusing on keep his son’s memory alive.
“My son was an honorable kid. He wasn’t into any kind of violent activity or things of that nature,” he says. “I’m just trying to do what I can to push forward and commemorate his legacy and make sure that the city of Rochester is going to remember my son forever.”
via 13wham