Editor’s note: This article discusses suicide. If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, call, text or chat with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or visit988lifeline.org 24/7 access to free and confidential services.
On Sunday, March 1, North Providence police evacuated the home on Towanda Drive while trying to negotiate with a man inside who was threatening to harm himself and his family.
North Providence Police Chief Alfredo Ruggiero Jr. said the man was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Ruggiero said police arrived at the home around 3:15 p.m. after the family contacted them, saying the man had threatened them and himself and that he had a gun. Members of the man’s family – the man’s mother and two brothers – were safely evacuated and the man locked himself inside, according to Ruggiero.
A police negotiator and social worker tried to speak to the man but were only able to speak with him for a few minutes. Ruggiero said family members told police he had been showing signs of depression in recent months.
Ruggiero said police entered the home and found the man around 7:40 after a Rhode Island State Police drone entered the home.
Ruggiero said police had not previously had contact with the man. “He hasn’t been on our radar all these years,” he said.
“Our condolences go out to all the family,” Ruggiero said.
This article originally appeared in the Providence Journal: North Providence home evacuated after man threatens harm
