Man found dead inside Cranston home after standoff

by: Melanie DaSilva, Sarah Doiron

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — A man who shot at his wife and then officers was found dead inside his Cranston home after an hours-long standoff, according to police.

ORIGINAL NOTE: https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/west-bay/heavy-police-presence-in-cranston-neighborhood/

Officers swarmed to a home on Harding Avenue around 8 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a domestic disturbance with a man who was making suicidal and homicidal statements.

The suspect, 69-year-old Neil Douglas, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was threatening to kill himself and his wife, police said. His wife was able to escape and call 911 from a neighbor’s house.

Police say Douglas shot at arriving officers but missed and struck a home across the street. No officers or residents were struck.

Nearby homes were evacuated, police said, and four hours later police broke a window and sent in a drone with a camera where they found Douglas dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“There’s a lot of mental health calls that we respond to. We’ve tried to address that through our crisis intervention team. So we go out with mental health clinicians all the time. We have officers specially trained to do that. So we are trying to address that, but in a situation like this, that happened very quickly. And again, when there’s a firearm involved, it really escalates,” Col. Michael Winquist said.

“Obviously the family is distraught. We ask that you respect their privacy,” he continued. “She is very fortunate. The life that she was able to escape unharmed tonight.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, seek immediate help:

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call, text or chat 988
BH Link: Rhode Islanders can call 401-414-LINK (5465)
Kids’ Link RI: Parents can call 1-855-543-5465