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Local law enforcement reacts to Las Vegas mass shooting

Rochester Police Deputy Chief Scott Peters
caitlin whyte / wxxi news
Rochester Police Deputy Chief Scott Peters

Law enforcement around Rochester are responding to the Sunday night mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Scott Peters is the Rochester Police Deputy Chief and said at large venues and events like these people should always be aware of their surroundings.

"Don’t even look at as an active shooter, how about a fire? Everybody knows where the fire exits are, everybody knows where to get out in case something happens."

Peters said that it’s easy to get into that mind set of "this is Rochester, that won’t happen here" but you can never tell where these kind of events will occur.

He went on to say that a lot of security happens behind the scenes or is done before an event, so just because you don’t see ramped up security doesn’t mean it’s not there.

In terms of enhancing security efforts even further, he says it depends on what people will tolerate.

"Will people tolerate looking like we're in an armed location or is it something where they want to feel comfortable?"

The city is holding an outdoor benefit for Puerto Rico relief this weekend at Parcel 5.  Peters said he wouldn’t go into specifics but that police will be watching closely.

Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero also responded to the mass shooting.

CMAC is in Ontario County and Povero said security at the venue is a collaboration between Finger Lakes Community College police, local fire and ems services, the venue and the sheriff’s office.

Povero echoed what Peters said, that like any public space, people need to be conscious of the activity around them.

"At any venue, whether it’s the performing arts center, whether its retail shopping, whether its noticing something unusual at a traffic corner, if you see something unusual, say something."

With horrific videos and photos from concertgoers at the scene in Vegas popping up all over the internet, Povero said these can often be helpful.

"There are criminal investigations in which video taken and secured by private individuals has assisted law enforcement in follow up and in some cases criminal prosecution."

He said most people have cell phone out at concerts so if they see anything suspicious they shouldn’t hesitate to call 911.

Povero says they recently completed a report on the latest CMAC concert season, evaluating what went right and how to plan for the 2018 season.