9 injured, 3 seriously, in shooting in Providence's Washington Park

Editors note- A follow up to this story is available: Aftermath of shooting in Washington Park: 9 injured, all expected to recover

PROVIDENCE — Two groups of young men exchanged gunfire early Thursday evening in what authorities described as a mass shooting that injured as many as nine people in Washington Park. 

On Friday morning, Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré said that eight people were hit by gunfire, and a ninth person was injured but not hit by gunfire. He said two people were in critical condition, and a third was in serious condition. 

He said all the injured people are expected to recover. 

Paré said one group with three to five guns opened fire on another group around a house at 87 Carolina Ave., and two people in or around the house returned fire.

No arrests have yet been made. 

"These are groups that we are familiar with," Police Chief Hugh T. Clements Jr. said Thursday night. "This is not random. It was targeted at that address."

Clements said police went to Carolina Avenue at 6:47 p.m. in response to calls and found dozens of bullet casings. 

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An estimated several dozen shots were fired. No other shooting in the city's history has injured as many people, he said.

Providence has seen a rash of shootings in recent weeks. Prior to Thursday, 19 people had been shot in the city in 2021 and seven people had been killed by gunfire in homicides, Clements said. 

"It's unfortunate that young men in this community have no regard for life at times," Clements said. "They fire the guns willingly at each other, which is the case here. So very disappointing." 

Evidence markers showing where more than a dozen shell casings littered the ground could be seen in the distance. Police sealed off the area.

Clements stressed the investigation was in its early stages. Detectives were at the hospitals interviewing the victims, who are between the ages of 19 and 25.

Only one of the injured was taken to Rhode Island Hospital by ambulance with the others arriving in private vehicles, Clements said.

Providence police Maj. David Lapatin later said that eight men and one woman had been shot.

There was a heavy police presence outside Rhode Island Hospital following the shooting, and later in the night police confirmed that the facility was locked down.

Lisa Pina-Warren, director of victim services and street outreach for the Nonviolence Institute, said two victims were in the operating room. She said the others are stable with "multiple different wounds – arms, legs, one in the chest."

"We are just supporting the families and the victims," she said. "We're going in, gathering information, just making sure everyone's OK, bringing information back out to the family because only one family member at a time can go in. So we're just making sure all family members know the status of their loved one and making sure that the victims feel supported as well."

Cedric Huntley, executive director of the institute, confirmed to The Journal that the shooting involved "two rival groups or gangs."

The next step is neighborhood outreach to prevent any possible retaliation.

"We're always concerned," Huntley said. "It's always a factor."

Huntley described the scene at the hospital as "tough" and "very chaotic" with a mix of nurses, security and social workers. 

Oftentimes, Huntley said, the victims "show no emotion."

"The ones that we were able to connect with were awake, alert and wounded. It was emotional for those families that came in."

On Carolina Avenue, Mayor Jorge O. Elorza had talked to residents.

"Everybody is shaken," he said.

"They tell me about their experience," he said. "I've lived through it myself with shootings outside my house. It's unnerving. You clutch your family a little tighter that night."

Elorza urged victims to work with the police to bring perpetrators to justice.

In the past, the two particular groups involved in Thursday's shooting have not cooperated with police, Clements said, adding, "we'll see tonight."

"This has to stop," Elorza said. "The young people involved believing that the way to solve their disputes is with a handgun. That can't be the way." 

With reports from staff writer Amy Russo and The Associated Press.