15-year-old boy shot and killed in driveway in Providence
PROVIDENCE — Providence police have no suspects after a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed Saturday in the driveway of a house on Wallace Street, in the city's Silver Lake neighborhood.
Capt. Tim O'Hara said police are canvassing the neighborhood, trying to figure out why the boy, whom they have not named, was there, and what he was doing, before he was shot.
"His familiarity with this neighborhood is unknown and there's a question as to why he was up here in the first place," O'Hara said.
The boy has family in Providence and Warwick, but O'Hara did not say specifically where he lives.
"Right now, we have no suspects, and we're trying to find answers for the family, devastated over this 15-year-old boy being killed last night, so we're just trying to do anything we can to get this family answers," O'Hara said.
WJAR-TV identified the boy as Ger'Vonte Tilson, of West Warwick.
O'Hara said police responded to 911 calls for a disturbance, and at least one call for shots fired.
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The boy died from his injuries at the scene, O'Hara said.
The boy's killing is the fifth homicide in Providence in 2022, a steep decline from last year, which ended with 23 homicides
A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he was glued to his phone and didn't hear anything, but when he tried to go outside to smoke, he found police in his driveway, and saw the boy's body. Police ordered him to go back into his house.
"I didn't sleep," he said.
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The man said he has lived in the neighborhood, just a few houses away from the Clarence Street Playground, for three years, and everyone knows each other.
"It's a good neighborhood," he said.
Mayor Jorge Elorza came to the scene and spoke to neighbors, and family members, for more than an hour.
"Our heart goes out for the young boy and his family," Elorza said. "Everybody bleeds, everybody is hurt and is affected when something like this happens."
He said anyone with information about the shooting should contact the Police Department.
On Sunday morning, police tape blocking off the street had been mostly removed, two strands attached to street poles flapping in the wind, as neighbors gathered on the sidewalk in the shade, discussing the shooting.
The boy's family members set up a makeshift memorial next to the house, with a board tied to a handicapped parking sign, as well as candles.
”RIP Ger'vontae forever in our hearts!!” the sign read.
Family members declined to be interviewed.
After the memorial was set up, a woman nailed a red no trespassing sign to the side of the house, next to the driveway where the boy was found.
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The shooting was the second on Saturday in Providence. A man was shot at the Quality Fuel gas station on Smithfield Avenue at 4:15 p.m.
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Elorza said the shootings appear to be unrelated, but it is still early in the investigations.
The victim was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. There have been no arrests in that shooting either.
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When asked what can be done about gun violence, Elorza said there is always more to do and he touted a plan to bring license plate-reading cameras to the city, to which some city councilors have objected. The license plate readers are being installed in undisclosed locations in the city.
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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Shooting in Providence leaves 15-year-old boy dead
