Police investigate homicide on South Plymouth
Police are investigating the Saturday morning shooting of a man on South Plymouth Avenue.
Police did not release the man's name, but family members identified him as Carl Ward, 33, of Rochester. According to Robin Ward-Ashley, Ward's mother who was at the scene, he also had a daughter.
Dorothy Manuel, who identified herself as an aunt, said she was out when another relative called her home about the shooting.
"My son was telling me, 'They just shot Carl. Carl is dead.' I said, 'Where?' They said on Plymouth. So we came over here to see what's going on."
Rochester police said that they received a call at approximately 9:50 a.m. of shots fired in the area of 699 S. Plymouth Ave. for a male who had been struck at least once in the torso. Officers arrived and found the man dead on a porch. No one is in custody.
The homicide is the 26th in the city this year.
Police attention appeared to focus on the front porch of a home on South Plymouth Avenue and the corner of Coulton Place. A van from the medical examiner's office was parked in front.
South Plymouth Avenue was closed from Bartlett Street to Columbia Avenue during the investigation, and was reopened by late afternoon.
Manuel said she had not seen Ward in a while.
"I know he was a sweet kid," she said. "He was sweet to me."
An hour or so after the incident, what appeared to be a group of family members came to the intersection of South Plymouth Avenue and Bartlett Street, and they were escorted by police through the cordoned area to be closer to the house.
Manuel said she just felt terrible, and was unable to meet with the other family members at the scene.
"I've got a lot of relatives down there," she said. "I haven't seen none of them in a long time. But today I see them all."
PSINGER@DemocratandChronicle.com