ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren stood with Rochester City Police Chief La’Ron Singletary and City Council Vice President Willie Lightfoot on Wednesday to announce an emergency order to help curb the recent violence in the city.

“Much of this violence has been proceeding by house parties or large gatherings on our city streets or in our city parks. Therefore the emergency order will prohibit public gatherings of five or more people between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and indoor gatherings of 10 or more unrelated individuals from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. unless the location is licensed under the state’s alcohol beverage and control law,” Warren said.

“This is regarding gatherings that we have seen in our empty lots, in our parks, on our sidewalks that have led to people actually coming up and drive by shootings occurring,” Warren said. “What we have seen in the last couple months, a party has ensued, people are ready to leave, hanging out and someone will open fire.”

According to the mayor, since June 1, 70 people have been shot and there have been eight people who have died due to gun violence.

“I grieve for all of these families as I grieved for my love one. Having experience gun violence in my own family, I can feel and understand their suffering. But it doesn’t have to happen.”

Councilman Lightfoot was in attendance saying his fully supports the mayor’s order. “We don’t need to lose another life, we don’t need to see another sobbing mother,” Lightfoot said.

“We have to understand that these human lives that we are loosing in our community are important and they matter as well too and to do efforts like this, I think it’s preventive.”

Earlier this month, Singletary held a press conference after 13 people were shot in 10 separate incidents over the July Fourth, holiday weekend.

MORE | RPD Chief on weekend violence: ‘Families, communities are being destroyed’

On Wednesday, the police chief said we can’t become numb to this much violence.

“We cannot wait for a child to be struck by a bullet before we take this seriously,” Singletary said. By request of the mayor, starting this weekend, the New York State will join the Rochester Police Department to help enforce the order.

“We’re not looking to stop family parties,” Singletary said that these large gatherings are usually late at night and a nuisance to the neighbors. “It ties up resources to disperse large gatherings and limits our ability to respond to other 911 calls throughout the city.”

Singletary said during. these large gatherings, it increases the chance of people meeting who have a dispute. He also said the response to break up these gatherings require multiple police officers and a lot of times other people who call 911 aren’t able to get help in a timely manor because it ties up resources.

“What the mayor has done with this order is add another tool within our tool kit,” Chief Singletary said. “We’re seeing people being impacted we’re seeing lives, families and communities being broken as a results.”

In referencing the pandemic and civil arrest across the state and nation, Singletary said added that there is no easy answer to it all.

“We’re continuing to work at and develop tools to see how we can do this in a manor which we keep everyone safe,” the chief said.

The order went into effect Wednesday at 11 p.m.

Check back with News 8 WROC as we will continue to update this developing story.