ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Authorities in New York say two Rochester police officers were shot, one fatally, in what officials called a "cowardly ambush."

According to Rochester Police Chief David Smith, Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz and his partner Officer Sino Seng were shot Wednesday on Bauman Street.

Statement from the Chief of Police, David Smith. pic.twitter.com/a5l0fdEnHa

— Rochester NY Police (@RochesterNYPD) July 22, 2022

WKBW reported the shooting happened at approximately 9:15 p.m. in northeast Rochester.

Smith said Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year veteran of the department, was shot in the upper body at least once.

Smith said that Mazurkiewicz was taken to Strong Hospital, where he later died.

Seng, an 8-year veteran of the department, was shot at least once in the lower body and was transported to Rochester General Hospital, Smith said.

Smith said Seng has since been treated and released and is back home.

The chief said that a female bystander was also hit by gunfire and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police are still searching for the suspect, WKBW reported.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. —

A fire damaged the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in New York on Sunday before firefighters put out the blaze and rescued artifacts inside.

The Rochester Fire Department (RFD) responded around 1:00 a.m. to an automatic fire alarm at the residence that once belonged to Anthony, a leader of the women's suffrage movement. The fire burned through the home's back porch.

Related video above: Susan B. Anthony headstone in Rochester, New York, covered in plexiglass

The Rochester Fire Investigation Unit listed the cause of the fire as suspicious, but the final cause remains undetermined and is still under investigation, RFD spokesperson Lt Jeffrey Simpson told CNN.

Cameras on the property showed a person standing in the back yard and on the back porch right before the fire started, Susan B. Anthony Museum and House president Deborah Hughes told CNN.

"We don't know why someone would do this, it may have been a random or intentional act, or it may have been someone responding to the museum being a supporter of women's rights since we are in a contentious era. It's hard to know for sure," Hughes said.

Firefighters relocated artifacts into a safe part of the house and took great care entering the home, stopping any extension of fire, smoke, or water damage from entering the house, according to Simpson.

"The firefighters were so careful with the artifacts, even moving pictures while keeping them in the right order," Hughes said. "They were extremely conscientious about making sure not too much water got into the house."

The back porch, which was over 100 years old, was a complete loss and was taken down to secure the structure and make sure the house was safe, Simpson said.

"The damage to the building was purely on the outside back porch of the structure," he added. "There was some minor extension into the building because it broke through the door, but it was only some water and smoke damage on the first floor."

The home was built in 1859, and Anthony lived in the home -- which also became headquarters of the National American Woman Suffrage Association -- from 1866 to 1906, the year she died.

"The Rochester Fire Department has long understood the significance that this property holds both to our local community as well as the nation," Battalion Chief Joseph Luna said in a statement. "A great job was done by the firefighters tonight in limiting the effects of the fire on both the museum and its displays."

Anthony is known for her work for woman suffrage and her arrest after voting in the 1872 presidential election when it was illegal for women to do so. She also spoke out against slavery and was instrumental in getting colleges to admit women.

"Anthony was all about trying to build a more just society and we just hope that what people get out of coming to the house inspires them to continue this work," Hughes said.

The defiant suffragist worked tirelessly for voting rights for women but died 14 years before the 19th Amendment -- later known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment -- was ratified in 1920.

"It is so clear how much this house matters to the community, our neighbors, and even our firefighters. They were deeply moved with not only taking the responsibility seriously, but feeling like this is a national treasure," Hughes said. "What could have been really tragic, thanks to the amazing work of the firefighters, was a sad loss but we will be okay."

The process to rebuild a back porch will begin as soon as possible, Hughes said.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. —

The city of Rochester has suspended police officers seen in body-camera videos spraying a chemical “irritant” in the face of a distraught and handcuffed 9-year-old girl, officials announced Monday.

The city did not specify how many officers were suspended. The suspensions will last at least until an internal police investigation is completed.

The action was announced as community outrage swelled following the release of footage Sunday showing officers restraining and scolding the girl, who was screaming for her father. At one point, an officer is heard telling her to “stop acting like a child,” to which she cried, “I am a child.”

Police said officers were responding to a report of “family trouble” Friday.

The police body camera video shows numerous police cars and officers on the snowy scene. After being restrained on the ground, the girl, wearing flowered leggings and a black sweatshirt, asks, “Can you please get the snow off of me? It's cold.”

“You had your chance,” one officer tells her, while another shouts, “Get in the car now!”

Mayor Lovely Warren met with the interim police chief, Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan, before announcing the disciplinary action.

“What happened Friday was simply horrible, and has rightly outraged all of our community,” Warren said in a statement. “Unfortunately, state law and union contract prevents me from taking more immediate and serious action."

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday her office was “looking into” what happened. She called the incident “deeply disturbing and wholly unacceptable.”

James last year empaneled a grand jury to investigate the actions of several Rochester police officers following the death of Daniel Prude. Prude died after officers responding to a call for help from his brother put a hood over the naked man's head and pressed his face into the pavement.

The New York Civil Liberties Union said Rochester police should no longer be involved in mental health crises.

“There is no conceivable justification for the Rochester police to subject a 9-year-old to pepper spray, period," NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said Monday.

Also Monday, two Rochester state lawmakers, Sen. Samra Brouk and Assemblyman Demond Meeks, both Democrats, announced legislation to prohibit use of chemical agents against minors by police officers.

“To see such horrific footage of the mistreatment of a little girl, no less, was simply unreal. We have to remember who we’re talking about here," Brouk said during a video news conference. “This is a child. She’s in elementary school.”

At a news conference Sunday, Deputy Police Chief Andre Anderson described the girl as suicidal. She was eventually taken to Rochester General Hospital and later released to her family.

The day after the incident, the police said the girl disobeyed commands to put her feet in the car. An officer was then “required” to spray an “irritant” in the handcuffed girl’s face, the department said.

A man is facing charges for allegedly stealing more than $1,200 worth of Girl Scout cookies.

Police in Rochester, Minnesota say a grocery store’s alarm called them Saturday night. When they arrived, they found Joel Whittaker trying to drive off with 23 boxes of cookies stuffed in the backseat and trunk of the car.

Whittaker told officers he was dumpster diving when he found pallets of cookies sitting in an unlocked loading dock.

Investigators believe Whittaker drove up to the unlocked area and began filling his car with as many boxes as would fit and leaving some on the floor.

Although the cookies are packed on the pallets according to flavor, police say Whittaker had taken a mix of flavors.

Police found stolen license plates, bolt cutters, drugs and drug paraphernalia in Whittaker’s car.

He was charged with felony counts of burglary and theft.

Twenty-five boxes of cookies that were removed from the pallets and not opened were turned over to police, and then donated to a Salvation Army Day Center in the area, according to WCCO.