The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating after two vehicles – one laden with gas canisters – crashed and plowed into the crowd outside the concert at the Kodak Center, killing two people and injuring five others. The suspect, who has been identified as Michael Avery from Syracuse, has died, two law enforcement sources said, according to the CNN.
The FBI defines domestic terrorism as involving acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of US or state laws, appearing to be intended to intimidate or coerce civilians, influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.
Revelers were walking on a crosswalk outside the venue at around 12:50 a.m. Monday when a Ford SUV slammed into a Mitsubishi Outlander that was leaving a nearby parking lot, Rochester Police Chief David Smith said at a news conference Monday.
The force of the crash sent the vehicles through a group of pedestrians who were on the crosswalk, Smith said.
Two passengers in the Mitsubishi were killed and the driver was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The Ford’s driver was also hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, according to the chief.
Three pedestrians who were struck were taken to a hospital, one with life-threatening injuries, Smith said.
Avery’s family has been interviewed by investigators. Authorities say the suspect’s family believes he was bipolar, though he had not been diagnosed.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the crash, a White House official said.
The crash ignited a fire that took firefighters nearly an hour to extinguish, the chief said.
Once the flames were out, first responders found “at least a dozen gasoline canisters in and around the striking vehicle,” the chief said.
MNA
