ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Four people are in custody, two of them facing murder charges, in connection with a mass shooting on State Street last winter which left one person dead.
The shooting happened just after closing time Feb. 7 at Club Mexican Village on State Street. In a hail of bullets, eight people were shot.
"We are very fortunate. One person getting shot is too many, but we're very fortunate there was only eight victims," said Lt. Frank Umbrino.
Ernesto Aybar, 29, died in the shooting. He recently moved to the Rochester area from the Dominican Republic. Seven others were wounded.
"Since the night of the incident, the Rochester Police Department's Major Crimes Unit has conducted an extensive investigation," said Rochester Police Chief Mike Ciminelli.
Nearly eight months later, police have made four arrests. Two defendants, Juan Luis-Garcia and Josue Delgado-Rivera, face murder charges. Two others, Jaime Fontanez-Baez and Efrain Figueroa Jr. are charged with assault.
"As in every murder investigation, you get one shot at it, so it's a slow meticulous process sometimes," said Umbrino.
Surveillance footage shows the scene both inside and outside the bar. It was a crowded scene. Police say an initial fight inside the bar over alleged stolen money then spilled outside.
"There were three different handguns used and in excess of 25 shots fired," said Umbrino.
Police won't say which, if any of the victims, were targeted by the shooters. Some were innocent bystanders. During the course of the investigation, police say they found large amounts of cocaine and heroin while conducting search warrants.
Many of those at the bar that night provided helpful information to police.
"We did get a lot of good information that night and we've talked to dozens of people," said Umbrino. "As with every case, at the end of the day people need to step up and come forward and talk with us."
All four of the defendants have been arraigned in Rochester City Court. All of them are now being held at the Monroe County Jail.