PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Cruising through the city under a full moon, a young man leaned out a car window and fired a few shots -- not far from police.
That happened in Providence Thursday night -- not once, but twice, within a little over two hours.
The first was at 9:15 p.m., when Providence Detective Nicholas Ludovici and state trooper Conor O'Donnell heard gunshots in South Providence. Then they saw a young man hanging out the window of a black Jaguar with its lights off, rolling by Verndale Avenue and Babcock Street, firing bullets into the air, said Maj. David Lapatin.
The police pursued the car, following them into Roger Williams Park, by the zoo, until the Jaguar stopped and the police moved in. The gunman, who is just 16, was arrested, as was another passenger, Daniel Carides, 18, of Providence, Lapatin said.
The police later found the .25 caliber semiautomatic gun the teen had used, Lapatin said. Carides was held on bail after his arraignment Friday at District Court on a charge of carrying a pistol without a license.
In the Wanskuck neighborhood on the other side of the city at 11:30 p.m., Detective Christopher Currier and trooper Justin Andreozzi heard gunfire and saw a minivan speeding on Oakland Avenue. They pursued the minivan onto Chad Brown Street, where it crashed into a utility pole, Lapatin said.
The driver fled, leaving behind a 22-year-old man in the passenger seat, Lapatin said. The minivan had been stolen from Central Falls. The passenger was taken in for questioning.
And by morning, the daylight revealed a .25 caliber pistol that had been flung under a parked car, about 20 feet from the crash, Lapatin said.