A deadly crash outside of moe.’s New Year’s Eve concert in Rochester, New York left three people dead and at least nine others injured.
The incident occurred just before 1:00 a.m. local time outside of the Kodak Center in Rochester. A man identified as Michael Avery — who has since died — sped up a rented Ford Expedition across an oncoming lane of traffic and appeared to drive intentionally toward a pedestrian crossing.
ABC affiliate WHAM reports that Avery crashed his vehicle into a rideshare Mitsubishi Outlander, killing both passengers inside. The momentum of the crash sent the vehicles through a group of pedestrians before one vehicle burst into flames, causing a blaze that took firefighters more than an hour to extinguish.
In response to the crash, moe. expressed their “profound shock and sadness” on social media. “On a night that was meant for celebration and togetherness, we are faced instead with a tragedy that defies understanding,” they wrote. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of those who lost their lives, and our thoughts are with those who were injured.”
Police reportedly found at least a dozen gas canisters in and around the Ford Expedition. According to law enforcement, Avery made at least six purchases of gas and fuel containers in the days leading up to the incident.
As of publishing, authorities have found no evidence that Avery acted on “political or social biases” in the incident. “So far we’ve uncovered no evidence of an ideology and no nexus to terrorism, either international or domestic,” FBI agent Jeremy Bell said in a news conference on Tuesday morning.
However, authorities have not ruled out domestic terrorism entirely. It is still being investigated as a possible motive in the case.