Police searching for Providence drive-by shooting suspect

July 9, 2017 3:24 pm

By: Chloe Leshner

Twitter: @CleshnerABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Police are searching for the suspect of a drive-by shooting that happened on Newark Street in Providence around 2:15 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

37 year old Pablo Baez is in the hospital after police say a suspect drove by on a motorcycle and shot him while he was at a barbecue.

What was the perfect day for a cook out, quickly turned into chaos

"A quick in and out, that’s what it was," says Louis Salazar, a neighbor.

Police say a man wearing a white helmet on a blue and white motorcycle drove by a family barbeque on Newark Street and shot a man that was there.

"We just heard gunshots and as soon as that happened I ran outside and I noticed there were a bunch of bullet shells on the floor and it was craziness," says Salazar.

Dozens of neighbors looked on as Providence Police processed the scene Sunday afternoon. Crime scene tape blocked off a section of Newark Street for about an hour, shell casings scattered on the pavement, as police talked to witnesses.

Authorities say Baez was driven to Rhode Island hospital with non life threatening injuries.

Police quickly wrapped up the on–scene investigation but some neighbors say they’re left feeling unsettled that something like this could happen so close to home.

"I’ve lived here for a little over a year and never once heard of anything like this happening. So this happening on my street with families here and kids here, it’s a pretty big shocker it really is," says Salazar.

Police are still investigating.