PROVIDENCE -- Two men have been charged with last month's murder of 12-year-old Aynis Vargas at the Hartford Park housing project.
They are Brandon Castro, 21, and Ricardo Vasquez, 20, both of Providence. They were arraigned this afternoon on charges of murder and murder conspiracy, and ordered held without bail.
Police Chief Hugh T. Clements Jr. said that investigators got little help from the community and they had to rely on "typical, old-fashioned, boots-on-the-ground police work.''
"It was a tough case,'' he said.
Asked about a motive for the shooting, he said: "No one at that party was specifically targeted. The location -- Hartford Park -- was targeted.''
Aynis Vargas and three adult women were shot around midnight outside a row of apartments at 256 Hartford Ave. The girl died at the scene, while the three adults survived.
The gunman wore a black shirt, mask and camouflage pants.
So far, 10 people have been murdered in Providence this year. June was a particularly bloody month, with three murders and 16 others shot and wounded. The murder of Aynis, a middle-school student in Cranston, led to a nonviolence march on Hartford Avenue that included Providence Mayor Angel Taveras.