An off-duty upstate New York police officer fatally shot a 27-year-old woman and wounded the woman’s sister before turning the gun on herself in a murder-suicide.
Police say 29-year-old Officer Tiffani Gatson shot the two women outside a home in suburban Rochester before taking her own life.
Responding officers found three bleeding women outside the home on Costar Street around 7:20 p.m. Monday.
Angely Solis was pronounced dead at the scene. Gatson and the surviving victim were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital, where Gatson was pronounced dead,
The surviving victim, a 30-year-old woman, is hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds. She was not publicly identified.
A neighbor described seeing one of the women begging for her life before she was gunned down in front of her 2 minor children.
“I just saw a bunch of blood. She had her hands up, she was begging for her life,” the neighbor told a reporter. “She wanted her kids. She was begging for her kids. She was begging for her life. [Gatson] had already shot her once.”
Lt. Greg Bello of the Rochester Police Department declined to provide any details. But sources say the incident began with a domestic dispute between Gatson and her ex-girlfriend. The officer reportedly accused her ex of infidelity.
Bello said Gatson was a “law enforcement officer in a neighboring jurisdiction,” who was off-duty at the time of the shooting.
Gatson made history in 2018 as the first-ever Black officer to join the Greece Police Department. Greece is a suburb of Rochester, NY. Gatson was a road patrol officer according to Greece officials.
Gatson, who grew up in Rochester, was reportedly turned down by the Rochester Police Department due to an alleged history of mental health issues.
The Greece Police Department tweeted photos of Gatson taking her “Oath of Office” on Sept. 24, 2018.
@GreecePoliceNY proudly introduces our newest recruit officer, Tiffani Gatson! Recruit Officer Gatson begins the police academy on Wednesday and is pictured with @PatrickPhelan8, taking her “Oath of Office”. pic.twitter.com/gqHMMUsMo4
— Greece Police NY (@GreecePoliceNY) September 24, 2018