A 35-year-old Rochester man is facing attempted murder and weapons charges after police say he pulled his vehicle alongside a woman's car near the Ford Street Bridge and tried to shoot her multiple times while she was inside, just after the two had left a Family Court appearance together. The woman was not hurt, but the attack sent officers scrambling to the bridge area and ended with a U.S. Marshals task force arrest the following day.
According to WHEC, police said Rakuann Simpson attempted to shoot a woman after she left Family Court with him on Tuesday. Investigators said Simpson drove up next to the woman's car and attempted to shoot her multiple times while she was still inside the vehicle. He then ran from the scene, police said, leaving the woman shaken but unharmed.
WHEC published its report on October 20, 2026, before 13WHAM published its report on October 22, 2026. Rochester police officers responded to the Ford Street Bridge area after reports of shots fired. WHEC's crew was in the area and heard gunshots followed by sirens around 4:10 p.m. Tuesday. The bridge itself was partially blocked off for about half an hour while investigators worked the scene.
Search Warrant Turns Up Three Loaded Guns
Simpson evaded capture for roughly a day before a U.S. Marshals Task Force tracked him down and took him into custody on Wednesday, per the same account. While serving a search warrant at a home on Stonewood Park, police said investigators found three loaded guns inside.
Simpson now faces charges of second-degree attempted murder, second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree criminal mischief, the station's report notes. Under New York's weapons statute, a person can be charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon when they possess a loaded firearm with intent to use it unlawfully against another person, according to the New York State Senate. Separately, the state's attempt statute ties the severity of charges like attempted murder to the underlying crime that was allegedly attempted, per the New York State Senate.
Case Lands Amid a Broader Drop in Rochester Gun Violence
The shooting attempt comes even as city officials have pointed to a steep decline in gun violence citywide. Rochester's 365-day rolling total of reported shooting victims fell to 150 in May, the lowest point since December 2018, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. That figure stands in sharp contrast to 2021, when the city's rolling total of shootings peaked at 426 during what the paper described as Rochester's gun violence epidemic.
City officials have also touted the broader trend. The City of Rochester said Mayor Malik D. Evans announced that gun violence fell almost 60 percent in 2025 compared to 2021, with nearly all gun violence metrics reaching their lowest point since 2018. Those citywide figures track a different measure than this single incident and don't speak to it directly, but they frame the backdrop against which Tuesday's shooting attempt unfolded.
