Rochester: Two killed and 14 wounded after mass shooting at party in New York state

Two people have been killed in a mass shooting in New York state in which 14 other people were also injured.

Police confirmed the shooting, which took place at a party, resulted in the deaths of a man and a woman between the ages of 18 and 22.

The incident happened during the early hours of Saturday in Rochester, a city on the southern edge of Lake Ontario in New York State.

Interim Police Chief Mark Simmons told reporters the 14 wounded people were taken to two different hospitals.

“This is truly a tragedy of epic proportions,” he said near the crime scene.

None of those wounded were reported to have life-threatening injuries.

The city's Major Crimes Unit was expected to address news outlets and give more details on Saturday morning, the Associated Press reports.

According to local press, there were more than 100 witnesses to the incident. One person told 13Wham News the gunfire sounded “like the Vietnam War”.

Police have cordoned off several streets in the area.

The shooting comes after the city's police department was rocked by the suffocation death of Daniel Prude.

Video taken in March and made public by Prude's family on 4 September shows him handcuffed and naked with a spit hood over his head as an officer pushes his face against the street while another officer presses a knee to his back.

The officers held him down for about two minutes until he stopped breathing. He was taken off life support a week later.

On Monday, Rochester mayor Lovely Warren sacked police chief La'Ron Singletary, who she said initially misled her about the circumstances of Mr Prude's death.

Additional reporting by agencies.

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