‘Horrific and shocking loss’: 29-year Rochester Police veteran killed, partner injured in line of duty

Jami Ganz

Two veteran police officers were shot, one of them fatally, while on duty in Rochester, N.Y., Thursday.

Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, “a father, a husband, and a 29-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department, was killed in the line of duty on Bauman Street while in service to our community,” Rochester Police Chief David Smith said in a heartbreaking statement provided to the Daily News.

“Officer Sino Seng, who has been with the department for 8 years and was Mazurkiewicz’s partner, sustained at least one gunshot wound to his lower body in the same “cowardly ambush,” said Smith.

Rochester police investigate behind a house on the corner of Bauman and Laser Streets where two police officers were shot last night in this area in Rochester, N.Y., on Friday.
Rochester police investigate behind a house on the corner of Bauman and Laser Streets where two police officers were shot last night in this area in Rochester, N.Y., on Friday.


Rochester police investigate behind a house on the corner of Bauman and Laser Streets where two police officers were shot last night in this area in Rochester, N.Y., on Friday. (Tina MacIntyre-Yee/)

Seng was treated at the hospital and is now recovering at home with his wife and family, according to the chief’s statement.

The “very violence in our community that we are trying to combat” also saw a female bystander hurt, having sustained non-life-threatening injuries, said Smith.

Rochester police collect evidence in the area of Bauman and Laser Streets where two officers were shot last night, in Rochester, N.Y., on Friday.
Rochester police collect evidence in the area of Bauman and Laser Streets where two officers were shot last night, in Rochester, N.Y., on Friday.


Rochester police collect evidence in the area of Bauman and Laser Streets where two officers were shot last night, in Rochester, N.Y., on Friday. (Tina MacIntyre-Yee/)

“Yesterday morning, at 11am, I was asked by the media, ‘how dangerous is it out there for the Officers of the Rochester Police Department?’ My response was that every day, the men and women of this department leave home, not knowing if they are going to return home at the end of their shift,” said Smith, noting Mazurkiewicz was killed just hours later.

Smith noted that “the full force of this region’s law enforcement” responded to the incident — including the United States Marshall’s Service, ATF, and New York State Police.

“This same full force, is being utilized to bring whomever is responsible for this heinous act, to justice,” said Smith. “As we speak, the brave men and women of the Rochester Police Department are continuing to protect our community, despite this horrific and shocking loss to our family.”

The investigation is ongoing.

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