Man Dead In 'Targeted' Pawtucket Daytime Shooting: Police

PAWTUCKET, RI — Police on Saturday afternoon responded to a report of gunfire and found a man who had been shot dead inside his car.

At approximately 1:45 p.m., Pawtucket Police were dispatched to Randall Street for a report of shots fired. Police found a male victim inside a vehicle with several gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to Rhode Island Hospital where he was pronounced dead, said Det. Sgt. Christopher Lefort in a news release.

The shooting "appears to have been a targeted incident," Lefort said. Patch has asked the Pawtucket Police Department if the Randall Street shooting is considered gang-related.

Update: Pawtucket Police on Sunday identified the victim of Saturday's shooting as Leonardo Tavares, 20, of Pawtucket. With the assistance of Providence Police, four people were detained and questioned but later released, Det. Sgt. Theodore Georgitsis stated.

The Randall Street gun death comes amid a spate of gun violence in nearby Providence, and comes around a month after the still-unsolved Vibe Lounge shooting in Pawtucket.

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Late Saturday afternoon, Providence Police investigated a shooting on Camp Street that left two people injured. On Friday night, a man was shot and killed inside a vehicle on Pope Street in Providence. On Thursday night, nine people were injured after shots were exchanged between people in a car and at a house on Carolina Street, also in Providence.

In Pawtucket, a man was shot and injured around closing time outside the Vibe Lounge & Hookah Bar on April 23. Only hours earlier in Providence, a man had been gunned down and killed in an apparent dispute over drugs.

On April 15 in Providence, two men were shot inside a car on Hawkins Street and one of them died. On April 21, a man was shot dead inside his car on Atlantic Avenue. Hours later, another man was shot at a memorial held for that victim, 21-year-old Isaias Bulus.

Police tell GoLocalProv that Saturday's Pawtucket shooting may have prompted the subsequent shooting on Camp Street. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Justin Gould at jgould@pawtucketpolice.com and (401) 727-7100 ext. 723 or Det. Ethan Barrett at sbarrett@pawtucketpolice.com and (401) 727-9100 ext. 758.