PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Latest on a shooting in downtown Providence (all times local):
3:15 p.m.
Police say a man who stole a state police cruiser and abandoned it in Providence is not the same man who got into a shootout with police on a busy stretch of Interstate 95 less than two hours later.
State Police Col. Ann Assumpico says authorities still are searching for Donald Morgan, who is wanted for stealing a state police cruiser around 9 a.m. Thursday.
Assumpico says the 35-year-old Providence resident was arrested Wednesday on charges of obstruction and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. She says Morgan was handcuffed Thursday morning when a trooper taking him to court in the car stepped out to check on an accident.
One man was killed and a woman was injured in the shootout around 10:45 a.m. Police have not identified them.
___
1:30 p.m.
The head of the Rhode Island State Police says a cruiser was stolen by a suspect who was being transported to court by a state trooper.
Col. Ann Assumpico says the trooper left the handcuffed suspect alone in the vehicle when he went to check on an accident on Route 146 Thursday morning. She says when troopers come upon an accident on a highway, they have a duty to check on it.
The cruiser was found within an hour ditched in Providence without the suspect.
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare says a shootout later on a busy stretch of Interstate 95 through downtown Providence was related to the theft, although they have said they haven’t yet determined to what extent.
One person was killed in that shootout, and a woman was injured.
___
12:45 p.m.
One person is dead and one person is injured after a chase and shootout with several police officers on busy Interstate 95 in Providence.
No police officers were injured. Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare says they have not positively identified the person killed.
He says both the person killed and woman injured were in a pickup truck that police were trying to stop.
Police say the shootout was related to the theft of a state police cruiser earlier in the day, but say they haven’t yet determined to what extent.
Witnesses told local news outlets they saw a shootout between occupants of white pickup truck and other vehicles. A white sat riddled with bullets on the road Thursday afternoon.
The injured woman was transported to a hospital with serious injuries.
___
11:40 a.m.
Authorities are swarming over Interstate 95 in Providence, following a midmorning shooting on the busy stretch of road.
Ramps to I-95 are closed out of downtown Providence around the area of the Providence Place mall Thursday. Several ambulances could be seen on an on-ramp to I-95 north next to the mall.
Providence Police Chief High Clements tells WLNE-TV that there was a shooting. Police did not immediately release more details.
They also did not immediately say whether the shooting was related to the theft of a state police cruiser earlier in the day. The cruiser was found abandoned in Providence, but police were still searching for a suspect.
Emergency management officials are asking people to avoid the area.
Traffic was backed up on the highway and downtown.
___
11:35 a.m.
Ramps to Interstate 95 are closed in downtown Providence, and police are swarming around the area of the Providence Place mall amid reports of a shooting.
Several ambulances could be seen on an on-ramp to I-95 north next to the mall.
Emergency management officials are asking people to avoid the area because of an unspecified incident near the mall.
Traffic was backed up on the highway and downtown.
A police spokeswoman said she did not immediately have information on what happened.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to the theft of a state police cruiser earlier in the day. The cruiser was found abandoned in Providence, but police were still searching for a suspect.
___
9:45 a.m.
Rhode Island State Police say a cruiser was stolen during a traffic stop, and later found abandoned.
State Police Col. Ann Assumpico said in a brief written statement that the cruiser was taken at approximately 9 a.m. Thursday during a traffic stop. It was later found in Providence.
Police did not say where the cruiser was stolen from, how far the thief got, or how long it was taken for, although they issued a statement about the theft at 9:36 a.m.
When asked for more details, spokeswoman Laura Kirk said in an email “that’s all the info we’re giving out at this time.”
Police are still looking for the suspect.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.