RIT professor is motivated by tragic past to help stop violence in Rochester

ROCHESTER, NY (WHAM) - Irshad Altheimer remembers the day in 1997 that changed his life.

“It was mistaken identity and some gang members drove up to my car. I was shot three times and my best friend was killed in that incident. It was a very tragic event that had ripple effects throughout the whole community and impacted me personally," he said.

Since then, the Washington state native moved to Rochester and dedicated his life to stopping violence. As the director of the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at the Rochester Institute of Technology, he focuses on statistics to look for patterns in violent crimes.

“We provide technical assistance to community partners, law enforcement, and community-based organizations to develop evidence-based crime reduction strategies," he said.

With 12 homicides, June has been one of Rochester's bloodiest months. There have been 35 this year. Rochester Police have called on federal agencies for help.

Altheimer says the amount of violence in Rochester in the past two months hasn't been seen in over two decades. He believes there are several factors driving it.

“I think the first thing is we have to acknowledge we just came out of a national crisis and COVID-19 restructured society in a lot of ways," he said. "For example, as shooting violence is up, burglary and rape are down.”

The increase in shootings doesn't only affect those directly involved. It also impacts entire neighborhoods.

“If you take Jefferson and Bartlett, over the last 20 years over 700 people have been shot within a one-mile radius within that intersection. Think of the implication that has for children and trauma.”

If the surge in violence doesn't slow, this could be the most violent year in Rochester in over two decades. But Altheimer is optimistic things will change soon.

“We need to pinpoint high-risk disputes and find ways to interrupt those disputes," he said.

Altheimer says there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to stopping violence. Many times, individual neighborhoods require different approaches, including more community-based organizations stopping disputes before they become violent.