PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A man apparently trying to fight off an armed robber inside a Providence laundromat has been shot and killed, police said.
The victim, described only as a man in his 30s, was shot inside the Broad Street business at about 8 p.m. Tuesday.
“The suspect walked in, put a gun to his back and demanded the jewelry he had around his neck,” Maj. David Lapatin said. “The victim struggled with him and the gun went off.”
The suspect fled and the victim was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The death was the city’s 21st homicide of the year.
“It’s painful for all of us,” Mayor Jorge Elorza said. “There’s a lot of anger, combined with a lot of guns and that’s a really potent and bad mix.”
Police are looking at surveillance video from both inside and outside the laundromat in an attempt to identify the suspect, Lapatin said.
