Man shot and killed in backyard of Providence home
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Providence police said a 20-year-old man was shot to death Sunday in the backyard of a home on Public Street.
It was the city's 12th homicide of the year.
Maj. David Lapatin said police believe the shooter walked up Saratoga Street and opened fire in the backyard at about 6:30 p.m.
The 20-year-old was taken to Rhode Island hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name was not released.
Police said they believe it was a targeted attack. They were still looking for the shooter.
Mayor Jorge Elorza spoke out about the uptick in deadly shootings.
"The shootings that we have, they are a lot more deadly than they used to be. So, just looking at numbers from five, six years ago, the same number of shootings at the same time this year, only one person dead from that shooting. Now this year, the same number of shootings, 12 people dead," Elorza said.
Elorza blamed violence on the number of guns on the streets.