On the morning of January 1, 2024, a vehicle laden with canisters of gasoline driven by Michael Avery exploded after crashing into another vehicle in front of the Kodak Theater, which was hosting New Year's Eve celebrations. Justina Hughes and Joshua Orr, two occupants of the vehicle, were killed along with Avery. The

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

are investigating the incident as a hate crime and act of terrorism, though Rochester Police later indicated there was no evidence of a bias-related attack.

Attack

A New Year's Eve concert was occurring at the Kodak Theater in Rochester,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, which attracted approximately 1,000 guests. At 12:50 a.m. ET, concertgoers began leaving the venue and crossing the street via a nearby crosswalk. The suspect, driving a rented 2023 Ford Expedition, began to drive toward the crosswalk at an accelerated rate of speed crossing into the oncoming lane of traffic. The suspect's vehicle hit a

Mitsubishi Outlander The is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 2001. It was originally known as the when it was introduced in Japan. The original Airtrek name was chosen to "describe the vehicle's ability to tran ...

with two passengers in the back seat that was leaving a nearby parking lot, causing the suspect's vehicle to catch on fire around that time. The two passengers, Justina Hughes, 28 and Joshua Orr, 29, in the Mitsubishi along with the perpetrator were killed while 9 others were wounded. A third victim died of her injuries several weeks later.

Perpetrator

Authorities named 35-year-old Michael Avery (1988 – January 1, 2024) as the perpetrator of the attack. Avery lived in

North Syracuse, New York North Syracuse is a village in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,739. North Syracuse is located in the towns of Cicero and Clay, north of the city of Syracuse. History The village was origi ...

at the time of the attack according to public records, located next to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

which is 87 miles east of Rochester. Police recovered video of Avery purchasing gasoline and gasoline canisters at various locations within both

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

counties on December 30, a day after Avery left his personal vehicle at Frederick Douglass

Greater Rochester International Airport Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport is a public airport located within the City of Rochester, southwest of Downtown, in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is owned and operated by Monroe County. The airpor ...

. Two days prior to it, Avery rented a

WoodSpring Suites WoodSpring Suites, originally named ''Value Place'', is an extended stay hotel brand owned by Choice Hotels. Overview The hotel chain was founded as Value Place in 2003 by Jack DeBoer. In April 2015, the brand changed its name from Value Place ...

hotel room in neighboring

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. From 2003 until 2016, Avery had a long history of minor interactions with law enforcement all across

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. The county is part of the Central New York region of the state. Onondaga County is the core of the ...

, including incidents in Syracuse, North Syracuse, Warners,

Baldwinsville Baldwinsville is a village in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,898. It is part of the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is often referred to by those in the area as "B’ville". B ...

, Geddes, and Camillus. Avery graduated from

West Genesee High School West Genesee High School (colloquially referred to as West Genny or WG) is a 9–12 public high school in Camillus, New York, United States. It is part of the West Genesee Central School District. Recognized academic programs In addition to gen ...

in Camillus in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochester attack, 2024 Vehicle-ramming attacks in the United States Suicide car and truck bombings in the United States Suicide bombings in 2024 2024 crimes in New York (state) January 2024 crimes in the United States Mass murder in the United States in the 2020s Mass murder in 2024 Car and truck bombings in 2024 Attacks during New Year celebrations 2020s vehicle-ramming attacks 2024 road incidents 2020s road incidents in North America Attacks in the United States in 2024 Mass murder in New York (state)