A fiery crash outside a New Year’s Eve concert is being investigated as possible domestic terrorism after “at least a dozen gasoline canisters” were recovered.
(Video: WSYR)
Shortly before 1 a.m. Monday morning, as revelers exited the Kodak Center in Rochester, New York, following a performance by the Buffalo-based group moe., a deadly collision between a Ford Expedition and a Mitsubishi Outlander was captured on film.
After taking roughly an hour to douse the flames, Rochester Police Department Chief David Smith explained during a press conference that evidence suggested the incident that took the lives of a couple and injured five others was no accident.
Dramatic footage showed the Ford ablaze after impacting the Mitsubishi head-on before moments later a person could be seen walking away from the wreckage engulfed in flames. Smith explained, “The force of the collision caused the two vehicles to go through a group of pedestrians that were in the crosswalk and then into two other vehicles.”
Potentially disturbing dashboard cam footage of the incident in Rochester. Note the Ford Explorer that’s on fire and the person walking out of it. pic.twitter.com/oOt1PBpPRj
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 2, 2024
The Mitsubishi was reported to be a rideshare vehicle transporting a couple away from the show before the crash took their lives. The driver was said to have been rushed to the hospital in a non-life-threatening condition. Additionally, three struck pedestrians were taken to the hospital, one in life-threatening condition.
Meanwhile, the driver, identified as 35-year-old Michael Avery, who had also been transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, was confirmed dead Tuesday during a press conference.
Smith detailed that after the collision “at least a dozen gasoline canisters in and around the striking vehicle.”
“Based on the danger level associated with these, the Rochester Police Department bomb squad and the Joint Arson Task Force responded to the scene,” he explained.
NEW: Terrorist task force investigating an incident in upstate New York where a car filled with explosives targeted a rock concert.
At 12:50 a.m. on New Year’s Day as 1,000 people were leaving the Kodak Center in Rochester, a Ford Expedition barreled toward the crowd.
Right… pic.twitter.com/NIKVAq7y1O
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 2, 2024
As the FBI investigated the incident as possible domestic terrorism, law enforcement officials reported that a suicide note and journal were discovered at a hotel in Rochester where Avery, of Syracuse, had been staying ahead of New Year’s Eve. It was also reported that he had driven his own vehicle to the airport in Syracuse where he then rented the Expedition driven in the incident.
“Obviously I would have been liking to stand at this podium to deliver Happy New Year and smile and say good news,” Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said during Monday’s press conference. “But unfortunately today we don’t have good news because we have several individuals whose families’ lives are changed because they will not be here to bring in 2024.”
Investigators interviewed family members of Avery and shared suspicion that the suspect may have had an undiagnosed condition like bipolar disorder. “Avery may have been suffering from possible undiagnosed mental health issues,” Smith indicated during a Tuesday update, but remarked that the investigation did not indicate actions “were motivated by any form [of] political or social biases.”
A search of a storage unit belonging to Avery in north Syracuse was announced.
In their own statement on the deadly incident, moe. spoke of “profound shock and sadness” as they said in part, “We are immensely thankful to the first responders and venue staff for their swift and courageous actions in securing everyone’s safety.”
— moe. (@moeperiod) January 2, 2024
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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