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Shooting in Westerly, Rhode Island, Leaves 1 Dead and 2 Injured Shooting in Westerly, Rhode Island, Leaves 2 Dead, Including Gunman
(about 2 hours later)
Three people were shot, one fatally, at a housing complex in Westerly, R.I., on Thursday morning, the authorities said. A 66-year-old resident at a housing complex in Westerly, R.I., shot two employees and a neighbor on Thursday, setting off a manhunt before he was found dead in his room, the police said.
The gunman later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to an official briefed on the investigation. All three victims were women. One, a 47-year-old who worked at the complex, was killed. Another employee, 38, was in critical condition and was being transferred to a hospital in New Haven. The third, a 67-year-old resident, was stable after surgery, Chief Shawn Lacey of the Westerly Police Department said at a news conference.
The Westerly Police Department said the shooting occurred at Babcock Village, a housing complex that offers affordable housing for older adults and people with disabilities. The victims were not immediately identified pending family notification. The authorities did not identify the gunman or any motive for the attack, which unfolded at Babcock Village, a housing complex that offers affordable housing for older adults and people with disabilities.
The complex’s owner, Affordable Housing Strategies, Inc. and manager, Property Advisory Group, said in a joint statement that they were “shocked and saddened that this tragedy has occurred.” Officers arriving on the scene pulled surveillance camera footage to identify the suspect and entered his room with a master key, Chief Lacey said. The man was found in the room with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The authorities said they recovered a weapon at the scene.
Angelo Fusaro, 65, a resident at the complex, said he had been in his third-floor apartment when he heard a shot and a scream. Rushing to a window in the hallway, which looks down on the lobby, he saw a complex employee lying on the floor. Nearby was another victim, a resident in her 60s, who was bleeding from the neck.
“It was horrible,” Mr. Fusaro said. The police soon arrived, saw him in the window and ordered him to come down the elevator with his hands up.
When Mr. Fusaro stepped into the elevator, he saw shell casings. “I could smell the gunpowder,” he said. The gunman, he later realized, had fled back to his apartment after the shooting.
The employee who was killed had recently started working there, Mr. Fusaro said. He described her as a conscientious worker who took residents’ complaints seriously.
“She was a nice person, great person,” he said. “It’s pretty awful.”
The shooting prompted a two-hour lockdown at schools in Westerly, a waterfront town on the southern shore of Rhode Island, near the Connecticut border. Residents reported a heavy police presence, including armored trucks and helicopters, as the authorities searched for the suspect.
The complex’s owner, Affordable Housing Strategies, and its manager, Property Advisory Group, said in a joint statement that company officials were “shocked and saddened that this tragedy has occurred.”
“Our foremost priority is the safety of our residents and staff,” the statement said. “We are working with law enforcement to address this situation, and further questions should be referred to the Westerly Police and Rhode Island State Police.”“Our foremost priority is the safety of our residents and staff,” the statement said. “We are working with law enforcement to address this situation, and further questions should be referred to the Westerly Police and Rhode Island State Police.”
Local schools were locked down for about two hours, according to a post on the Facebook page of Westerly Public Schools.
Residents of Westerly, a waterfront town on the south shore of Rhode Island, near the Connecticut border, reported a heavy police presence after the shooting, including armored trucks and helicopters.
The Connecticut State Police dispatched troopers along the border and in the town of Stonington, Conn., which sits next to Westerly, to help with the investigation, a spokeswoman said.The Connecticut State Police dispatched troopers along the border and in the town of Stonington, Conn., which sits next to Westerly, to help with the investigation, a spokeswoman said.
The Boston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives tweeted that special agents from the bureau’s Providence office were on the scene to help the local police.The Boston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives tweeted that special agents from the bureau’s Providence office were on the scene to help the local police.
Representative David Cicilline, who represents the nearby First District of Rhode Island, tweeted that he was “closely monitoring the situation in Westerly.” Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island said in a statement that “I stand with the people of Westerly and all Rhode Islanders in coming together to support the victims and their families during this difficult time.”
Jacquelyn Smith, an administrator at Christ Episcopal Church, about a mile from the shooting, said the church had been locked down after the shooting. Seven people were there at the time. Jacquelyn Smith, an administrator at Christ Episcopal Church, about a mile from the shooting, said the church had been locked down afterward. Seven people were there at the time.
“We immediately sprang into action,” Ms. Smith said. “We locked all of the doors and we gathered in the church together.”
As they waited for an all-clear from the authorities, they alerted neighbors, friends and relatives about the shooting, she added. As they waited for an all-clear, they alerted neighbors, friends and relatives about the shooting, she added.
“We’re all as concerned about ourselves as we are our community and the people in it,” she said.“We’re all as concerned about ourselves as we are our community and the people in it,” she said.
Town Councilor Karen A. Cioffi said Babcock Village, where the shooting occurred, is a “normally quiet” public housing complex on Cross Street, about eight blocks from her home. Town Councilor Karen A. Cioffi said Babcock Village was a “normally quiet” public housing complex on Cross Street, about eight blocks from her home.
“I have been here 26 years and I’ve never heard of an active shooter,” Ms. Cioffi said. “We train for it all the time, but this is probably a first for us. It’s shocking.”“I have been here 26 years and I’ve never heard of an active shooter,” Ms. Cioffi said. “We train for it all the time, but this is probably a first for us. It’s shocking.”
Deborah Diehl, a resident at the complex, said she came out of her apartment after she heard a “commotion” in the lobby. She peered out of a window that looks over the lobby and saw a woman, one of the residents, covered in blood. Derrick Bryson Taylor and Robert Liguori contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
“There is yellow tape everywhere,” said Ms. Diehl, 64, who has lived in the building for 12 years. She said the police had ordered residents to stay inside their apartments.
Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island said in a statement that she was “closely monitoring the situation.”
“I stand with the people of Westerly and all Rhode Islanders in coming together to support the victims and their families during this difficult time,” she said.
Derrick Bryson Taylor and Maria Cramer contributed reporting. Susan Beachy contributed research.