Maplewood Park violence doesn't meet New York's mass shooting definition

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law last December a piece of legislation that defined a "mass shooting," tying the state definition to the Federal Bureau of Investigations one. She promised that would help release emergency funding and other federal resources to communities in grief.

"Protecting the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers remains my top priority," she said in a statement. "But when tragedies do occur, this legislation will help ensure our communities receive the emergency response and funding they need in the aftermath of a mass shooting."

That would be a glimmer of good news in terrible situations like the one Rochester now finds itself in, after seven people were shot Sunday at Maplewood Park.

Was Rochester park tragedy a 'mass shooting' in NY?

Two of the seven shooting victims died ; the others experienced non-life-threatening injuries, according to Rochester police. But that means the incident fell short of the state standard for a mass shooting, which requires at least four people killed.

An incident with four or more deaths could be more accurately defined as a mass killing. There are fewer of those, notably including the shooting at a Tops in Buffalo in 2022.

The resources in question include mental health support as well as expedited payment for local street outreach specialists doing conflict resolution and trauma healing work, said Assemblywoman Sarah Clark. She represents the Maplewood neighborhood and was a co-sponsor of the state bill that defined mass shootings.

She said she hopes to persuade the state to persuade the federal government to designate the Maplewood incident as a mass shooting despite the definition, thereby letting local responding agencies get paid faster.

"If you’re getting public dollars, you often need to get reimbursed, and these aren’t organizations with huge budgets," she said.

— Justin Murphy is a veteran reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle and author of " Your Children Are Very Greatly in Danger: School Segregation in Rochester, New York." Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/CitizenMurphy or contact him at jmurphy7@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Maplewood Park violence doesn't meet New York's mass shooting definition