A suspect shot and killed two people in Rhode Island before fleeing the scene and being fatally shot by police Wednesday, authorities said.
One victim was found in the suspect’s home and another was found in a neighbor’s home at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said. They said a domestic and neighborhood dispute sparked the killings, but didn’t release the victims’ names.
The shooting took place in Johnston, a town of about 30,000 located 11 miles west of Providence, Rhode Island.
After police responded to the initial shooting in a residential area, multiple police departments were involved in a car chase following an SUV toward a nearby highway, authorities said. Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist told reporters James Harrison of Johnston fled in a vehicle and was spotted about 9:30 a.m. by Cranston police.
Harrison was shot and killed by police after a car chase in an interaction that involved dozens of gunshots, according to authorities.
During the car chase, Harrison drove the wrong way on a major road, swerved at several police vehicles, and struck one, said Winquist. Harrison then jumped the median and struck a rock, disabling his vehicle.
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The man emerged from the vehicle brandishing a handgun at police and shots were fired, officials said. No officers were hurt.
Rhode Island State Police Col. Darnell Weaver confirmed that the suspect was shot by police and died at the scene.The state attorney general’s office is investigating law enforcement’s use of deadly force, which is standard protocol, an office spokesperson said.
According to The Johnston Sunrise, witnesses reported hearing “more than 50 gunshots” after police shot and apprehended the suspect along Plainfield Pike. Russell Thompson, a superintendent at a nearby construction site, said he had been in a trailer that’s about 800 to 1000 feet from the overpass where the interaction between police and Harrison took place.
“I heard the shots,” said Thompson, 59, estimating that he heard more than 30 shots.
Johnston Mayor Joe Polisena told town residents Wednesday morning that the threat to public safety was over after the shooter was “apprehended.”
“The danger to the public is over,” the mayor said on Twitter.
Contributing: Mark Reynolds, The Providence Journal; Associated Press
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