Terror Attack In Rochester NY?

Late last night/early this morning there was an incident outside the Kodak Center on Ridge road in Rochester New York. A man identified as Michael Avery, 35, of Syracuse, drove his rented Ford Expedition into another car and a crowd gathered as they were leaving the venue. The crash killed 2 in addition to Avery and injured 9 more.

Avery traveled to the Rochester area on or around Dec. 27 after driving his personal vehicle to Rochester and checked into the WoodSpring Suites in the town of Greece. On Dec. 29, Avery rented the Expedition from a rental car agency at the Rochester Airport.

On Dec. 30, Avery made multiple purchases of gasoline and gas containers from different locations in the area of Monroe and Ontario counties, police said. He was alone when making these purchases.

Michael Avery, 35, is seen with a gas can before causing a deadly crash outside the Kodak Center in Rochester around 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day 2024.Provided by Rochester Police

Security video shows the Ford Expedition on fire, crashing head-on into the other vehicle and pushing it backwards. One person covered in flames got out of the cars.

A search of Avery’s hotel room turned up no suicide note or journal, leaving questions about his motivations. Police are still combing through evidence found after a search of Avery’s personal vehicle but have found no clear indications of a motive.

An FBI joint terrorism task force is investigating the incident but they have found no evidence of connections to ideologies or terrorist groups.