Latest in a wave of Providence shootings leaves man dead, city's 19th homicide
PROVIDENCE — A shooting inside a Broad Street restaurant on Saturday morning killed a 38-year-old man, the latest in a string of shootings since Thursday night that left three other men with gunshot wounds.
On Saturday around 9 a.m., police were on the scene of the shooting of an unidentified man — believed to be a customer — inside Roque's Cafe, at 337 Broad St., according to Cmdr. Thomas Verdi. The man was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, and Verdi confirmed that he had died, making him the city's 19th homicide victim this year.
At midday Saturday, police were still investigating the restaurant shooting, as well as a second apparently unrelated shooting that took place late Friday that left a man in critical condition.
"My heart goes out to the families of the two individuals impacted by these acts of senseless violence in the last 24 hours,'' Mayor Jorge Elorza said Saturday.
"I commend the Providence Police who are working to identify and hold those responsible for these incidents accountable. Anyone with information pertaining to these incidents is asked to share details with the Providence Police Department."
On Friday, police were summoned to 219 Bellevue Ave. shortly before 11 p.m. by a report of shots fired. On arrival, they found a witness applying pressure with her hands to the wound on the victim's chest.
The witness told police she had been in the passenger seat of a black Acura parked in front of the house when the unidentified victim got into an argument with a woman "carrying multiple bags.'' The woman was in the company of a man "also in possession of multiple bags."
From what the police were able to piece together, the two carrying the bags had been sitting on the front steps of 219 Bellevue Ave. when the victim "came outside and told them to disperse from the property."
"After the argument [the two] began to walk away, when the [man] walked back onto the first step of the residence and removed a firearm from a black satchel and fired multiple times at the victim," according to Verdi. The two suspects then fled on foot toward Dexter Street, police said.
Police said the house has a surveillance camera.
In a separate incident early Friday, 46-year-old Daryl Singleton, of Providence, was chased by two assailants into a parking lot and then shot in both feet in the vicinity of Hanover and Cranston streets.
An unnamed resident told police a vehicle pulled up around 2:15 a.m. Two people got out and started shooting at Singleton, who, at last check by the police, was in stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital.
On Thursday around 11:20 p.m., according to Verdi, a man identified as Rodney Wilcox, 36, of Providence, was dropped off at Hillhurst Avenue, where he picked up his car and also a tail by a Nissan Murano.
When he and a female friend who had been following his vehicle got to Union Avenue, outside Vic's Tap, they pulled over. The occupant or occupants of the car following him began shooting.
The victim got into the woman's car and they started driving toward Rhode Island Hospital, but she pulled into a Shell gas station at 200 Union Ave. and called for a rescue.
At last check, Wilcox was in stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital.
All incidents are under investigation, and no arrests have been made, police said.
The city's Board of Licenses, meanwhile, ordered a 72-hour shutdown of AJ’s Sports Bar & Grill at 286 Academy Ave. during an emergency meeting on Saturday, Verdi said.
The closure — pending an investigation and further review Monday — came in the wake of another incident involving a gun.
Verdi said the unnamed victim was assaulted, but no one was shot in that incident.