Providence reports spike in gun violence
PROVIDENCE — Providence has reported a higher number of shootings and homicides in 2020.
The Providence Police Department reported that there were 18 homicides and that 73 people were injured or killed by gunfire as of Dec. 29, the Providence Journal reported.
According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there were 13 homicides and 25 people were injured or killed by gunfire in 2019.
Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr., chief of the Providence police, said he believes that 2020 was an anomaly and not the start of a new trend.
The city started the year off with a peaceful six-month stretch from October 2019 to March without any reported homicides.
Mayor Jorge Elorza noted in an interview that while shootings were higher than they were in 2019 they are stiller than in 2011, when the city had 110 shootings.
“We’ve had a breakdown in our social-support systems,” Elorza said. “What we’re seeing right now is exactly what happens when our social-support system breaks down.”
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