RIT Professor’s Past Motivates him to Help Stop the Violence in Rochester

Irshad Altheimer, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, recently spoke from a personal memory on the violence in Rochester and his message to help bring this to an end. In 1997, Altheimer experienced an event that had changed his life for the better and stated: “It was mistaken identity and some gang members drove up to my car. I was shot three times and my best friend was killed in that incident. It was a very tragic event that had ripple effects throughout the whole community and impacted me personally.” Since then, Irshad Altheimer decided to dedicate his life to stopping violence. As the director of the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at the Rochester Institute of Technology, he focuses on statistics to look for patterns in violent crimes.

When addressing the City of Rochester, Irshad Altheimer says there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to stopping violence. Oftentimes, neighborhoods require different approaches, including more community-based organizations stopping disputes before they become violent.

Source: 13 WHAM