Six people — three adults and three juveniles — are in custody after a midday shooting at Sabin Point Park in East Providence, Rhode Island, that left a 20-year-old man in serious condition at Rhode Island Hospital, police announced in an update on Wednesday night, November 11. The three adults are due to be arraigned on Thursday morning in District Court, and all six are expected to face felony assault and firearms-related charges, which police say are still being finalized with the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office.
Source: East Providence Police Department (via JGPR)
Officers were called to the boat ramp area of the park, in the city's Riverside section, at about 11:35 a.m. on Wednesday for a report of a man shot, East Providence Police Chief Michael J. Rapoza said. Shortly after arriving, officers located several suspects fleeing the scene and took them into custody.
What police say happened at the boat ramp
Sabin Point Park is a waterfront park on the Providence River side of Riverside, and its boat ramp is a busy public spot in daylight hours. Police have not described what led up to the shooting, have not released a motive, and have not identified the 20-year-old victim, who remained in serious condition at Rhode Island Hospital on Wednesday night. WPRI 12 News also reported the shooting and the six arrests on Wednesday.
Chief Rapoza said all of the parties involved are known to police, and that there is no known threat to the public. Investigators recovered a pistol during the investigation. The Rhode Island State Police Dive Team also assisted by searching the water near the ramp, but found no evidence, police said.
Charges are expected, not yet final
East Providence police said they are working with the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office to finalize charges. All six people in custody are expected to face felony assault and firearms-related charges. Until charges are formally filed, those accusations remain allegations, and everyone taken into custody is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Police have not named any of the six, and Awaaz Punjab does not name juveniles accused in criminal cases.
The three juveniles were remanded to the Rhode Island Training School, the state's juvenile detention facility. The three adults were held for arraignment on Thursday morning in District Court — the first court appearance at which charges are read and bail is typically addressed.
Who is investigating
Detectives from the East Providence Police Department's Major Crimes unit and its Bureau of Criminal Identification continue to investigate, Chief Rapoza said. The Bureau of Criminal Identification handles evidence and forensic work for the department, while Major Crimes detectives lead the interviews and the timeline of what happened at the ramp. The State Police dive team's water search — which came back empty — suggests investigators were checking whether anything connected to the shooting had been thrown into the water beside the ramp, although police have not said what, if anything, they were looking for.
What happens next
The next public step is Thursday morning's District Court arraignment of the three adults, where the finalized charges are expected to become public. The juveniles' cases move through Rhode Island's juvenile system, which handles young defendants separately and largely out of public view. Police are also expected to update the victim's condition and, if charges are filed, to release the adults' names through the court process.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the East Providence Police Department at 401-435-7600. For residents of Riverside — a neighbourhood of family homes built around the park, the river and the East Bay bike path — police say the key reassurance is that the people involved knew each other, everyone involved was taken into custody quickly, and there is no known continuing threat to park users or neighbours.