Police standoff with gunman: 'I've never seen something like this' says Providence commissioner

PROVIDENCE — A gunman’s overnight standoff with Providence police erupted into a lengthy exchange of automatic gunfire Thursday morning in the Charles neighborhood, with each side firing hundreds of rounds of ammunition, authorities said. 

Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré and other police leaders say the firefight, which ended in the man’s death, involved more bullets and carried greater risk for police officers and residents than any gunfight they’ve encountered.

The shooting started around 6 a.m., about three hours into an initial standoff that had brought uniformed officers to the Denison Street home of a 61-year-old man, identified as Scott Maclean, embroiled in a domestic dispute. 

“It was clear that he wasn’t coming out,” said Paré. “We knew there was weapons in the home, so the officers retreated.” 

The unprecedented gunfight that unfolded was fought in a compact urban area with military-grade guns and other equipment, including a state police armored vehicle and even a robot at one point.

The angles often advantaged Maclean, who held higher ground. In one instance recounted by Paré, the margin of safety for police officers was about 6 inches. 

He and police Cmdr. Thomas Verdi, both veterans with decades of experience, say they’d not before seen an exchange of gunfire on anywhere near the same scale. 

 "In my nearly 40 years, I've never seen something like this," Paré told reporters. 

 "It was a very scary, very frightening scene," Mayor Jorge Elorza said from the scene. "This could have easily been much worse." 

A domestic disturbance

What appeared initially to be a typical domestic-violence incident, considered among the most dangerous types of incidents for police, brought uniformed police officers to Denison Street, just off Commodore Street near Branch Avenue, around 2:30 a.m. 

They were told that Maclean, who was intoxicated, had committed an assault, either punching or slapping a person, in the house, Paré said. 

Police learned that Maclean was heavily armed, with 15 guns, and they succeeded in moving everyone other than Maclean, including some grandchildren, out of the house. They also evacuated some nearby homes. 

"We didn't know what he was going to do," Paré said. 

Tactical teams armed with automatic rifles were called in. First to the scene was Providence’s Special Response Unit, led by Lt. Patrick Potter, at about 3:15 a.m. 

The special-response tactical officers wear body armor and carry automatic weapons, which can include M-4 assault rifles.  

Two negotiators, Sgt. Charles Viera and Officer Shane Ramono, tried unsuccessfully to establish dialogue with Maclean, who did not answer a cellphone, Verdi said. 

Getting eyes on Maclean 

By around 3:30 a.m., a state police tactical team was on the scene with its armored vehicle. In it, Providence and state police moved closer to the house. 

“We did everything we could to get him to surrender,” Paré said.  

One of those tactics, he said, was an attempt to “flush” him out with a pepper-type spray. 

The police also deployed a robot that provided a view of Maclean, including his movement from a second-floor bedroom to a bathroom and his movements around a safe in the bedroom, thought to hold guns and ammunition. 

“It must have been getting to him,” Paré said, referring to the spray. 

Around 6 a.m., Maclean opened fire on police, according to both Paré and Verdi, who emphasized that the shooting is under investigation by state police and the attorney general’s office, as is required under state law. 

"Multiple shots" fired, the police tweeted around 6:30 a.m. 

Maclean fired hundreds of rounds at police at a high rate, Paré said, adding that it appeared the gunfire was automatic. The tactical team returned fire with its automatic weapons. 

“We don’t know if he was hit at all,” Paré said, “We know he continued.” 

Occasionally, he said, Maclean appeared in the window, which was the “best shot,” but mostly he stayed away. 

“We had to shoot into the side of the house more than at the window,” Paré said. 

At one point, Maclean shot into a gutter, with police officers down below behind cover but by a margin of only about 6 inches, Paré said. 

At another point, Maclean fired directly at the armored vehicle, with bullets ricocheting off. Police could see him firing and moving back to the safe at times, Paré said. 

He fired at police from multiple positions on the second floor of the house, but mostly he fought from a bedroom, said Verdi.  

The only police officers to return fire were among 18 members of Providence's tactical team, said Verdi. 

'We are fortunate. So fortunate'

Before all the shooting began, Michelle Bucci arrived long before dawn at Jeannette's Bakery on Branch Avenue. Bucci walked into the bakery at 3:45 a.m., made her dough, and heard some commotion when she took her headphones off. A police officer told her to close the door and stay inside.

"Of course I didn't listen," she said later in a reflective tone. 

"I went in the back that's when I started to film (with her cellphone) because I heard a lot more shots," she said, adding that she did worry that the gunman would see the light from her phone.

Her video captured police telling Maclean to put a gun down. 

"Two minutes later," she said, "I got brave, opened the door and started to film again."

“We had evacuated some of the buildings and housings in close proximity,” Paré said. “But we were also concerned that some other homes might be occupied. We asked everyone to shelter.” 

“I was half a block away listening to gunfire as it erupted, and as it continued, and it’s amazing that none of our police officers were hit,” Paré said. 

Said Verdi: "We are fortunate. So fortunate." 

A blaze in the bedroom

The nature of the battle took on a different complexion when the bedroom where Maclean had holed up erupted in flames, Paré said.     

“We weren’t sure if he was still there,” he said.  

Jason Lopes captured video of the blaze from his apartment window a block away. 

Carefully and slowly, police and firefighters moved in. After firefighters knocked down the fire, Maclean’s body was found on the second floor.  

Police were told that Maclean had been abusing alcohol over a span of at least four days before the incident, Paré said, adding that Maclean had also been dealing with some mental-health issues. Maclean had no previous criminal record, he said.

Smoke wafts over neighborhood

In the hours after the shooting police expanded their cordon and kept a heavy presence in the neighborhood. The scent of smoke wafted on the air. 

A teenager, Migzendeleidyz Pizarro, stood in the backyard of an apartment house on Branch Avenue, adjacent to the site of the gunfight. 

Pizarro said she had been sleeping in a room with a window that looks out on the rear yard. She said she saw three police officers in the yard with rifles, all of them focused on the neighboring house. 

Police knocked on the front door and moved the occupants of her house into the street, she said. She was in the street when she heard the gunfire. 

As she spoke, investigators arrived on the property. Talking about casings, they cordoned off the yard with yellow tape.