Two shootings in one night in Providence, one fatal

It was a violent night in the city of Providence Thursday as a man was killed and two others were injured in two separate shootings on Smith Hill.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – It was a violent night in the city of Providence Thursday as a man was killed and two others were injured in two separate shootings on Smith Hill.

Providence Police Major David Lapatin said the first shooting occurred after 7 p.m. at G.I. Joe Convenience Store on Smith Street. The victim was the store’s clerk, 18-year-old Ali Sayeb.

“(Sayeb) said there might have been an incident of some sort of shoplifting. He went outside to confront a couple of customers, and someone else from the crowd took out a gun and shot him in the leg,” Lapatin said to reporters in a press conference Friday morning.

Lapatin said the officer that responded to the scene found Sayeb on the floor inside of the store and wrapped his leg in a tourniquet. He was transported to the hospital where he’s expected to be OK.

Around 20 minutes later, a second shooting occurred down the street outside of the Taco Bell on Douglas Avenue. Two men were shot inside a car.

“Right now it’s possible there was someone who rode up on them, either in a car or a motorcycle, shot into the vehicle and then took off,” Lapatin said.

The driver, 22-year-old Jacob Lemire, succumed to his injuries on scene. His passenger, 21-year-old Luis Soriano, was critically injured. Police said both men are from the Chad Brown neighborhood of Providence.

But, it didn’t end there. Lapatin said, after the shooting, the vehicle rolled down Douglas Avenue and collided with a minivan head-on. The driver of that vehicle was not injured.

Soriano, he said, got out of the car and waved down someone for help.

This homicide is the 13th so far this year in Providence. Lapatin said there was a total of 11 homicides for the entire year of 2019.

“I think the COVID has a little bit to do with it, you put people inside for months, and then they came out and things heat up on the street,” Lapatin said. He added that another reason for the uptick in violence could be that we had a hot summer, and most importantly, that there are more guns on the street.

He cited the rise in gun sales during the months of lockdown at the start of the pandemic.

“They were sold legally, but we are imagining a lot of them were then resold, what we call a straw buyer, and sold them to other people who really aren’t supposed to be in possession of guns.”

But, Lapatin said, people shouldn’t be worried.

“Look. Is the city of Providence safe? Yes. These are all targeted incidents so, please, don’t feel it’s not safe in Providence. It is. We’re a good-sized city and we keep it safe.”

So far no arrests have been made in either shooting.

© WLNE-TV 2020