A small neighborhood on the south side of Providence, was shaken by a shooting Thursday that left nine people wounded, including three still in critical condition Friday afternoon.
After work Thursday, Julio was preparing to celebrate his daughter’s second birthday when he thought he heard fireworks in the street. He said he saw a small gathering farther down the street when he arrived home, and assumed people were celebrating.
“Yeah, like fireworks,” said Julio, who was still shaken the following morning, and asked that we not use his last name.
He quickly realized the sound he heard was gunfire.
“I took the baby, run out to the other side of the house,” he said. “I was afraid.”
According to Providence officials, two groups of people wielding at least five firearms, including semi-automatic weapons, shot off more than 50 bullets around 6:45 p.m. Thursday. The shooting is the latest incident in a year where Providence police have already seen an uptick in gun violence.
But residents on Carolina Avenue did not expect the violence to extend to their neighborhood, which they described as quiet and family-oriented.
Julio and his wife — who is pregnant with their second child — are among the young families making this corner of the city home.
“I bought a house three years ago, like three years ago,” he said. “But this is the first time you know, something like this happened. At this point, we don’t know what to expect.”
“Maybe we’ll have to relocate at some point, because we don’t want to see this situation…. Our neighborhood has to be safe.”
Residents are especially concerned that the shooting happened in an area where children regularly play outside. The street is filled with single family houses and small apartment buildings. The community is tight-knit.
“It’s always been a family neighborhood, you know. So I don’t want to see people moving out from a friendly environment because of that crap that’s going on,” said Linda Clinton.
Clinton, and her husband James have called Carolina Avenue home for more than 40 years. They raised their children here. In the warm weather, they regularly sit on their front porch to enjoy the breezes that come up from the bay, just a few blocks away.
“We sit out here and mind our own business, say hi to our neighbors, and I don’t want to have to worry about him,” Clinton said, “or he has to worry about me being shot randomly because some idiots have a feud down the street.”
The Clintons say they want police to act swiftly to arrest and charge those involved and to maintain a greater presence in the neighborhood. Police do plan to increase patrols in the Washington Park area over the weekend, in case of continued violence.
Additionally, staff with the Nonviolence Institute, a local nonprofit, will spend the coming days in the neighborhood trying to connect with people who may know those involved.
“And they’re following up on any information that they can gather from last night to ensure that there’s no retaliation,” said executive director Cedric Huntley.
Huntley knows the area and it’s young people. He’s worked with the Institute for two decades, and used to run the nearby recreation center.
“We’ve seen some of those young people grow up,” Huntley said. “And so some of those victims were very familiar to us last night.”
Huntley says the violence is the result of systemic problems in the city, including a lack of opportunity, resources and outlets for young people. Something he hopes will change before more violence breaks out.
