ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A large gathering took place on Sunday to remember the life of shooting victim Justin McMillian in Rochester. The event was allowed, even with COVID-19 social distancing directives in place from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

At a press conference Monday, Mayor Lovely Warren says she drove by the vigil on Clifford Avenue and saw around 100 people.

“Knowing our community and knowing the passion and the need to mourn we decided that we were going to allow the community to come together yesterday to mourn the life that was lost,” Warren said.

Warren says the situation could have escalated due to the heightened emotions and police intervention, and thankfully it did not.

Locust Club President Mike Mazzeo wants the city held accountable.

“[The State Attorney General’s Office] should come in and investigate this,” he said. “We need to know what the laws are and then we need to know where we stand. We’re going to be told to go out and clear gatherings or tell people to ‘social distance’ … At the same time, we allow something like this to take place?”

Mazzeo puts the number of those who gathered over 200. He says tensions in Rochester are high enough in the age of coronavirus, adding another reason to not permit such a large gathering.

“The city’s already a ticking time bomb. We’re going through a pandemic and we’re going through a surge of violence in the streets. This is the last thing that you should do is light a match to the fuse that could burn this city down. It’s reckless and those who did it should be held accountable,” he says.

Councilman Willie Lightfoot also says the nature of the gathering and the size made for a difficult situation for police. He does say, though, that a better balance has to be struck when it comes to social distancing and allowing people to grieve.

“This is a very difficult emotional time for everyone,” says Lightfoot. “Unfortunately, people need to comply. Can you point the finger at any one person right now? No. I think it’s important that we try to strike a balance between loved ones being able to mourn their family as well as being able to enforce the directives of the Governor.”

Mayor Warren says going forward, it’s not likely this will happen again on Clifford Avenue.

“Because they’ve already gathered, already mourned, we will tell people that they cannot gather at that site in that way any longer,” she said.