Citizen journalist Geoffery Rogers severely beaten at event honoring victims of deadly park shooting

A local citizen journalist was severely beaten Tuesday evening at a balloon release event for the victims of a weekend mass shooting.

Geoffery Rogers was struck with bottles and poles, sustained broken bones and was hospitalized, his mother posted on Facebook.

In multiple videos recorded of the attack, people can be heard shouting, “Why did you come here?” and asking to make sure people recorded it and shared the video.

Rogers, 22, has become a well-known figure in Rochester, reporting from crime scenes and fires since he was 14. He posts videos from the scenes on social media and runs a website, GSLnews.com , featuring brief news stories from around Rochester.

He was at a Sunday barbecue in Maplewood Park where a shootout left two women dead and five injured, and he started recording. He later posted a video of one of the women receiving CPR, partially blurring the image.

The widely viewed video drew criticism, including from the victim’s family members, who asked him to take it down. Rogers declined.

“GSL News is a media platform that shows everything. GSL News understands some people may not agree with the video but this is the job of a news reporter. TMZ and other platforms that don’t delete anything,” the post reads. “Our community is suffering from violence and people need to see what’s really happening.”

Then came the gathering on Tuesday.

The assault initially was reported as a stabbing. A statement from the Rochester Police Department said officers responded to the park at 6:40 p.m. and cleared the area. Police did not identify Rogers as the victim.

So far, no one has been arrested in connection to the beating or the shooting.

Police are trying to identify a person photographed with a gun during the Maplewood Park shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Crimes Unit at 428-7157 or email MajorCrimes@cityofrochester.gov.

"We continue to encourage anyone that has information to come forward," Mayor Malik Evans said. "Obviously, there are bodies of evidence that are related to this, so it won't be solved overnight."

Rogers’ mother, LaCarla Carter, declined to comment for this story, but said Rogers was brutally beaten. On Facebook, she credited Assemblymember Demond Meeks, D-Rochester, for saving her son’s life.

Meeks came to Rogers’ aid during the incident Tuesday at Pulaski Park on North Street.

“He had absolutely no control in that moment, and you could see that it was an angry crowd, and I was moved to do something,” Meeks said. “It’s not a thing of trying to be a hero, but I don’t understand how somebody could stand by and watch another human being be hurt in such a manner.”

“One thing I believe wholeheartedly is that I am my brother’s keeper,” Meeks continued.

Meeks said he received some of the beating himself but walked away relatively unscathed.

Rogers first became known in Rochester in 2016 as a wunderkind reporter. He would roll up to press conferences on his bicycle, a human-interest story which gained national attention at the time.

Since then, Rogers’ story has been tumultuous, with several run-ins with the law. Among those are allegedly stealing a police car in 2019, and repeated charges of carrying a taser. According to New York court records, Rogers currently has two pending criminal cases, including charges of burglary, reckless driving, and larceny.

Jail records show Rogers was arrested on a probation violation while hospitalized. The charges were categorized under a failure to appear in court. Rogers had a court date for Wednesday, July 31 on charges of robbery in the third-degree.

Meanwhile, his videos have garnered a following in the tens of thousands. His approach has been controversial. His supporters often characterize his work as a raw, unfiltered look at crime in Rochester that traditional news cameras don’t catch. Others see him as ethically questionable and his reporting unreliable.

For now, GSL News is on hiatus, according to a post to its Facebook page.

“GSL News will be suspending operations within the City of Rochester until we can ensure our staff and their family members are safe,” Rogers said. “GSL News wants to thank the citizens of Rochester for their ongoing support. We look forward to being back on the streets in the coming weeks providing you with Rochester news.”