A well-known local civil rights activist says it was his nephew who was shot and killed early Sunday in Rochester’s JOSANA neighborhood.
The Reverend Lewis Stewart, who heads up the United Christian Leadership Ministry, says his nephew Lewis Puryear was the man killed at a house party near Jay and Orchard Streets.
Rochester Police have now officially identified the victim as 30 year old Lewis Puryear. They say the incident happened around 4:20 a.m. Sunday at 233 Orchard.
They say a male was found dead shot in the upper body. Police also got a second call about a possible shooting victim at Strong Hospital. That person suffered minor injuries, and officers say that person was not actually shot. They do say the two calls are related and the investigation continues.
Stewart says Mayor Lovely Warren and Police Chief Michael Ciminelli have offered their condolences to the victim’s family.
In a statement, Stewart says this most recent death, “…certainly hits home and certainly emphasizes that we must do something to halt the scourge of gun violence in our city. We grieve with all the families whose family members have been the victims of this potent evil.”
