Homicide Victim's Family Blasts Violence In City
A family mourning the loss of a loved one at the site of their murder.
Wednesday night, the Vinson family held a vigil on Saxton Street. On Tuesday, 25-year-old Robert Vinson was shot and killed. His brother, 23-year-old Devon Vinson was also shot. He is in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital.
According to police, the two men were followed, assaulted and shot. Police believe the men may have been involved in an altercation at Smith Street where there was a large dice game.
The Vinson family is adamant that this is not the case. They say Robert and Vinson were not gambling.
"They were walking home," says Cynthia Gantt, the brothers' great-aunt. "They were walking a friend home."
The men were shot less than a mile away from their home.
Gantt says Robert worked at the McDonald's at the airport. Devon works at a Family Dollar store.
"Those boys went to work and came home," Gantt says. "They weren't guys who hung out the street. They were home bodies. They lived with their mom. They were a close knit family."
The family says they are fed up with the recent violence that has marred their neighborhood.
"The violence here has to stop," Gantt says. "Where does it stop? I hate to see the weather get nice, because I'm scared to death."
The Jay-Orchard Street Area Neighborhood (JOSANA) where this shooting occurred has been seen other tragic events in the past few months.
Two weeks ago, a man was shot to death on Smith Street. In February, four children died in a house fire. Their mother has been charged in their deaths.
These incidents come at a time when the JOSANA neighborhood is under revitalization.
According to Luis Aponte, a chairman for the Charles House Neighbors in Action, crime hasn't been too bad in the neighborhood for several years and revitalization plans has created excitement among the neighbors.
"There is so much good that's happening her! e," says Aponte. "People are starting to come out of their homes a little bit, but things like these type of [violent] episodes tend to put them back and hide them away."
On Wednesday night, Diane Wilson, the Vinson brothers' neighbor helped the neighborhood children put up signs and messages for the family at their home. It was a sign of hope amid all the violence.
"They were pleasant guys," Wilson says. "They would do anything from their hearts to help you."
She, too, is tired of the violence she's seen.
"I'm tired of it because I want all of us to get along. We're neighbors. It's just sad. It's pitiful."
The Vinson family is praying for Devon's recovery and praying that the there will be an end to the violence.
"We're not harboring any hatred in our hearts," says Gantt. "There is already enough of that. We don't want revenge. We want justice and we want the violence in Rochester to stop. We're losing too many of our young men."
If you have any information about this crime, you can call Crimestoppers at 423-9300.
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