Two killed after driver plows SUV loaded with explosives into New Year’s crowd in possible domestic terrorism incident in Rochester

According to police, at approximately 12:50 am, about 1,000 people were leaving the Kodak Center in Rochester, when a Ford Expedition that was speeding towards the crowd plowed into an Uber that was leaving a nearby parking lot.

Police Chief David Smith said at a press conference, “The force of the collision caused the two vehicles to go through a group of pedestrians that were in the crosswalk and then into two other vehicles.”

The cars exploded into fireball, killing the couple inside of the Uber while the driver was rushed to the hospital. Three people in the crowd were hit by the cars, with one in critical condition. The fire was so intense that it took firefighters an hour to knock it down.

The driver of the Expedition who tried to ram the crowd was identified as Michael Avery, and was transported to the hospital. According to The New York Post, he died at approximately 8 pm Monday.

Law enforcement located a dozen gasoline canisters on the pavement and inside the Expedition. ABC News reported that Avery rented the extra-large SUV before heading to the location of the concert and that the incident is being investigated as possible domestic terrorism.

Sources told The Post that Avery rented a hotel room in Rochester. Police searched it and found a suicide note and journal and are planning on searching a storage unit that belonged to Avery in North Syracuse.

The same sources told the outlet that authorities are also interviewing Avery’s family members who believe he had bipolar depression but was never officially diagnosed.