By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
Two men were shot and killed after leaving a birthday party in a Providence nightclub over the weekend, and two women and a man were suffered non life threatening injuries in an unrelated shooting, police said.
The two homicide victims were celebrating a birthday in a club called Fuego at 11 West Friendship Street, where police were called at 2:18 A.M. Saturday, said Providence Police Major David Lapatin. There, they found ten friends, including the two victims outside the club following a fight, which he said began either inside or outside the club.
“One of the participants in the fight … went to a car up the street, we believe, and obtained a handgun, came back and shot both the victims,” Lapatin said.
Mario Diaz, 27 of Boston was found dead at the scene, and Kerwins E. Pimental, 29 of Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital where he died later, Lapatin said, the 14th and 15th homicide victims of the year in Providence.
Later on Saturday, police obtained an emergency closure order from the Providence Board of Licenses for the club, which goes by the name Fuego Lounge & Restaurant. Major Lapatin said the police would likely seek to make the closure permanent.
In a separate incident, Lapatin said two women and a man were shot outside 272 Manton Avenue at about 1:15 A.M. Sunday, all suffering non-life threatening injuries. One of the women went on her own to Rhode Island Hospital where she left after being treated. The other woman and man were treated.
Lapatin attributed the increasing gun violence to the easy availability of guns.
“Usually, before you’d see one gun, two maybe at the most. So there’s more guns in play, which adds to the chance of more people getting injured.”
“If you think of the thousands of people that come in to the city on the weekend, and we talk about a few incidents but, it’s tragic what happens here, it really is. I don’t want to take away from that but, for the most part we’re working hard to keep everybody safe,” Lapatin said.
