On the night of July 4 into the early hours of July 5, 2026, 22-year-old Jalin Rios was fatally shot in an alley behind the former Bakery Bar on Niagara Street in Niagara Falls, New York. Police responding to reports of a large party and shots fired encountered a chaotic scene and a largely uncooperative crowd. Rios was found with gunshot wounds, taken to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, and later died; another person shot at the same location was treated and released after arriving at the hospital by private vehicle.

Rios was a Niagara Falls High School graduate who worked as a Special Education Associate for the Niagara Falls School District and as youth staff at the local Boys & Girls Club. Family, friends, and community groups remembered him for his compassionate nature and positive impact on the children he mentored. Community leaders and the SNUG program organized therapeutic support in response to the holiday-weekend shootings.

No arrests have been made and the Niagara Falls Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division is asking anyone with information to come forward; the investigation has been hindered by lack of cooperation from witnesses. If readers knew Jalin or saw activity behind the Bakery Bar that night, can you share what you remember with investigators?