'Ongoing Feud' Led to Biggest Shooting in Providence History

In what police in Providence believe was the biggest shooting incident in the city's 385-year history, several dozen shots were fired and nine people were injured Thursday. Police in the Rhode Island capital says four or five guns were involved as two groups of young men exchanged gunfire, the Providence Journal reports. Providence Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements said three of the victims were seriously injured and "maybe critical," reports the AP. Clements said the shooting, part of an "ongoing feud," began when a vehicle pulled up outside a home and opened fire just before 7pm. Occupants of the home returned fire.

The chief said the people involved were between 19 and 25 years old, CNN reports. He said officers were sent to the Rhode Island Hospital to prevent more violence between the two feuding groups. Clements said that before Thursday's shooting, 19 people had been injured by gunfire in the city this year and seven killed. "It's unfortunate that young men in this community have no regard for life at times," Clements said. "They fire the guns willingly at each other, which is the case here. So very disappointing." (More Providence stories.)