The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office has released an update on the investigation into the shooting that occurred on Green Street in the City of Canandaigua on February 28th resulting in the death of Brandon M. Zurkan of Warren, Pennslyvania.
Since the incident, investigators have pursued numerous leads, including interviewing dozens of witnesses, conducting a forensic examination of Mr. Zurkan’s cell phone, and searching his vehicle. According to the findings, Mr. Zurkan had applied for jobs in the Buffalo, Syracuse, and Southern Tier areas in the week prior to the incident, but he was not offered employment as a result of those inquiries. Beyond this, no additional information has developed indicating the reason Mr. Zurkan was in Ontario County.
The investigation also revealed that Mr. Zurkan had a Remington .20 gauge shotgun loaded with five live rounds on the stock of the weapon, along with a .45 caliber magazine containing four live rounds in his possession. Additional live .45 caliber and .20 gauge shotgun rounds were found in his vehicle. All the substances discovered in the vehicle, including Suboxone, Amphetamine Salts, Venlafaxine, Ziprasidone, Enalapril, Clonazepam, and Sucralfate, were in containers prescribed to Mr. Zurkan. However, toxicology results are still pending from the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Further investigation revealed that a second witness in the Town of West Bloomfield heard a gunshot as Mr. Zurkan’s vehicle passed his residence, consistent with the location of where the 911 caller heard the shot as he followed Mr. Zurkan. Five spent .45 caliber shell casings were also located on S. Pearl Street in the City of Canandaigua in the area where the deputy following Mr. Zurkan indicated he heard shots being fired. The casings were consistent with the ammunition in the .45 caliber handgun possessed by Mr. Zurkan during the incident.
It was also discovered that both firearms were legally purchased by Mr. Zurkan in Pennsylvania. Additionally, his criminal history includes a controlled substance conviction from Warren County, PA, in 2011.
The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office has closed the case, but the NYS Attorney General’s office is continuing its investigation and will report their findings at a later time. The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in this investigation by the Canandaigua Police Department and the NY State Police.
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