As of Friday afternoon, seven people remained hospitalized, including three in critical condition, Providence Police officials said the day after a shooting in the city’s Washington Park neighborhood left nine wounded.
Police have not yet made any arrests or filed any charges. The names of those involved have not been disclosed.
On Thursday evening, around 6:45, police leadership said tensions between two neighborhood groups in Providence erupted on a typically quiet street in Washington Park near the Cranston border. Law enforcement officials said they are hesitant to refer to the groups as gangs, because they are small and transient in nature, with feuds often originating from social media posts.
“These are not gangs in the sense of red and blue, Crips and Bloods,” said Police Chief Hugh Clements Friday afternoon. “These are groups of young men in the community who easily have access to firearms, and exact their revenge on each other…it’s all senseless.”
Several individuals had gathered outside 87 Carolina Ave. Thursday evening when a truck pulled up to the house, and at least four individuals began firing. At least two people returned fire from the porch, according to police.
“This was clearly targeted,” Clements said. “It was not random.”
Police said more than 50 bullets were fired off in short succession. At least five firearms were used, including semi-automatic weapons. After executing a search warrant, police confiscated eight firearms from within the house, including two rifles and six pistols.
“This is not surprising to us,” Clements said. “In 2017, we conducted a search warrant at this same very house with some of these same individuals and recovered ten firearms.”
The Providence police are working in tandem with federal law enforcement, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI. Clements said the charges could include felony assault.
The shooting comes amid an uptick in gun violence in the city this year. And so far in 2021, Providence police hit a seven-year high for gun seizures, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare.
“Look, sooner or later, there’s going to be someone on the porch, a grandmother, grandfather, a young baby in the arms of a mom, and they’re not concerned with that,” Clements said.
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza said it is not uncommon for violence incidents to occur in which most individuals have semi-automatic weapons. Officials believe the guns are flowing into the city through relatives, the black market, and so-called “straw purchases” where individuals purchase firearms for others.
“We have a real gun problem in this city,” Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza said. “And I think that it goes without saying that we’re also living in a society right now where the level of anger that exists, it’s creeped into every corner of our lives. There is a problem and we need to address that.”
City law enforcement is monitoring the neighborhood in an effort to prevent further violence, and will increase police presence in the area over the weekend. Clements said he expects to make new developments public by Monday.
