Jose Centeno Torres, 30, was fatally shot after an argument at the Popeyes on East Ridge Road in Rochester on the evening of Friday, December 1, 2023. The dispute involved three to four men and escalated to gunfire; Torres suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body and later died at Rochester General Hospital.

Police have said the shooting was not random. Investigators used eyewitness accounts and video surveillance from inside the restaurant to reconstruct the sequence of events and concluded the altercation preceded the shooting. In March 2024 authorities arrested 33-year-old Jose Laureano-Serrano of Rochester, but later determined he was not the aggressor and had fired in self-defense. Laureano-Serrano was charged with criminal possession of a weapon because the handgun he used was not legally owned by him. The individual who initiated the altercation and fled the scene remains sought by police.

If anyone was at the Popeyes that night or has information about the man who fled, police want to hear from you.