BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo police say a street party promoted on social media spiraled into chaos over the Fourth of July weekend, leaving 11 people shot across multiple locations along E. Delavan Avenue.
BPD Commissioner Erika Shields said the violence stemmed from a planned street takeover party at East Delavan Avenue and Grider Street that grew out of control.
"Delavan and Grider, where the promoter had been advertising, began as a manageable crowd, but the crowd size exploded," Shields said. "Unfortunately, many of the individuals at the location and at the adjoining streets were combative and seeking to wreak chaos. Multiple individuals had guns. And this presented an enormous safety challenge for the police, both to themselves and protecting the public."
Over the course of two hours, four people were shot on Stevens Avenue, three on Glenwood, one on Mosell, one on Humber, one on E. Delavan and Norfolk Ave, and another shooting victim drove up to ECMC.
"There were six separate shooting incidents, which resulted in 11 individuals being shot," Shields said.
The youngest victim was a 13-year-old girl. The oldest was a 51-year-old woman.
Officers responding to the multiple shooting victims on Stevens faced additional dangers from the crowd.
"When officers were dealing with the multiple people shot on Stevens, they were faced with people throwing commercial-grade fireworks at them, blocking, pushing. Being very combative," Buffalo Police Deputy Commissioner Craig Macy said.
Shields said she is taking action against the event's organizer, whose name has not been released.
"I am beyond disgusted with the organizer of this event. And I am coordinating with the city's corporate council to pursue a cease and desist order along with holding them responsible for the city's overtime bill," Shields said.
Police say the promoter may also face arrest.
WATCH: BPD: 11 people shot during street party that 'exploded' in size over Fourth of July weekend
Shields described to reporters how police learned about the planned street party and took measures to try to keep it under control.
"Knowing what was being promoted, the department engaged in numerous countermeasures," Shields said. "We worked with the Department of Public Works to install speed humps to deter street racing. We went door to door in the community to ask for cooperation from the community in deterring this event.
"We worked with various businesses in the area, requesting that they close early to avoid unnecessary traffic congestion. We leveraged our special investigations unit to glean as much intelligence as possible. And we increased our overtime manpower by approximately 150% over last year to ensure that we had sufficient personnel."
But with thousands of young people gathering at the spot, many arriving by ridesharing services from outside of Buffalo, the police were overwhelmed by the crowd size.
Residents along E. Delavan Avenue said they want to see real action taken to prevent future violence in their neighborhood.
"Show me. That's it for me. Show me. You can say whatever you want. You can put a statement together that's politically correct for the entire community. That's meaningless to me," said Angie Davis Leveritte, president of the Norfolk Avenue Block Club #1.
Ahmed Ayash, who owns the corner store at Stevens and E. Delavan Avenue, questioned why the gathering was allowed to take place in the neighborhood.
"Why they let them gather over here and make all this trouble in this especially neighborhood?" Ayash said.
Ayash said residents want answers from their elected officials.
"We need to meet with the council to see why, what is this for? Why?" Ayash said.
Resident Sidney Moore said she spent the night outside trying to protect her property.
"I stood out here with all these people so I can protect my property. They're sitting on my car. They're sitting in my yard. They're sitting on my porch, you know, they're going behind my gate. I don't know what's going on back there," Moore said.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan issued the following statement on Monday evening:
"All Buffalonians deserve to have a safe and fun holiday, but for many, that did not happen this 4th of July. Over the holiday weekend our Buffalo Police Department handled a series of violent incidents.
Among them was an online-inspired Street Takeover and the vandalism of a police officer’s home.
Let me be crystal clear, acts of violence against our police officers, their families or their homes will not be tolerated. People who engage in acts of violence against our officers are despicable and will be brought to justice. We will put our full resources to finding those responsible.
Furthermore, Street Takeover events will not be tolerated. They are dangerous, not only to the participants, but to bystanders and residents who live in these communities.
It is also destructive and disrespectful to the surrounding communities. I am disgusted to see the damage that was done to these neighborhoods and communities.
My heart goes out to the shooting victims and their families. My administration is committed to working with Buffalo Police, community leaders, residents and my partners in government to ensure our communities are safe from gun violence."
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