Reuters
A fire burns on Lake Road after a suspect shot four firefighters responding to the blaze in Webster.
A crazed gunman killed at least two firefighters and wounded two more plus a local cop, responding to a blaze near Rochester early this morning, authorities said.
The gunman has been confirmed killed, the local police chief said today at a news conference.
Authorities in the western New York town of Webster evacuated the neighborhood as flames engulfed three homes on Lake Road, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Firefighters had to fall back after shots were fired, and flames eventually spread to five more houses, WHAM reported.
Two of Webster's Bravest, shot and wounded, are in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital, officials said. One was reportedly shot through the hip and in surgery this morning. He's expected to survive.
One of the fallen firefighters was a volunteer -- his day job as a local police officer, WHAM reported.
“The words are truly unspeakable,” Monroe County clerk Cheryl Dinolfo told WHAM-AM “It’s hard to imagine such a tragedy happening here.”
The fire, near the Lake Ontario shore just east of Rochester, broke out at 191 Lake Road around 6 a.m., before spreading to two more houses and a car, officials said.
Dinolfo urged parents to speak gently to their kids about this tragedy in Webster and the recent school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
“It’s a raw emotion for these young people to have in their hearts and their heads,” she said.
“We can’t let evil overtake us. We have to get out there and fight and combat evil.”
“When we’re confronted with these horrific events,” she added, “we have to sit back and provide balance [to fearful children].”
Local cops, joined by New York state police, swarmed the neighborhood looking for the shooter.
Webster officials can’t remember another time when firefighters came under gunfire.
“I’m not aware of anything like this happening in Webster, obviously not a firefighter being fired upon,” Webster Fire Marshal Rob Boutillier said.
“The whole strip’s been evacuated,” Webster resident Michael Damico told the Democrat and Chronicle. “They’re evacuating all of the houses and going through them.”
Damico woke up at 8 a.m. to see flames down the street and a SWAT team going on a frantic, door-to-door search for a cold-blooded killer.
“We looked out the window and we saw the SWAT team and everyone around,” Damico said.
Residents near the fire were evacuated on Regional Transit Service buses, even as flames threatened their homes.
“Some people on this bus already watched their houses burn,” added Damico. “They’re not happy.”
Gov. Cuomo asked New Yorkers to pray for the firefighters' families, victimized in this "senseless act of violence."
“New York's first responders are true heroes as they time and again selflessly rush toward danger in order to keep our families and communities safe, " Cuomo said in a prepared statement.
“One behalf of my family and all New Yorkers, I offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed today and pray for the recovery of the injured.”
