Providence police make arrest after homicide investigation on Westminster Street
by NBC 10 NEWS
(WJAR) — Providence police said they have made an arrest in the homicide on Westminster Street on Wednesday.
The suspect, identified as 41-year-oldMichael Shaw, was taken into custody on Wendell Street, according to officials.
Police said Shaw and the victim, 57-year-old Michael Ames, were known to each other.
He is being charged with murder.
Police said they got an anonymous call Wednesday morning for a wellness check.
When police went to the basement of a residence on Westminster Street, officers found the body of a man.
Police said the body had obvious signs of physical trauma. Officials did not specify the injuries, but said they were searching for a suspect.
Providence police said there is no danger to the public, but the public has concerns.
“I have a son that walks this road to school every day as well so it definitely is alarming,” Tim Feller, a nearby resident said.
Authorities said the schools in the area were not impacted by the scene, but what residents say is a normally quiet neighborhood is now the focus of the city’s 10th homicide investigation.
It is also the city’s fifth in under five weeks.
Shaw will be arraigned in 6th District Court Thursday morning.
“It’s so sad to know we have the tenth homicide in providence, we should be doing a lot better as a city,” Mark Denvers, who lives in the neighborhood, said.
The total number of homicides this year is lower compared to 2023. There were 14 homicides in Providence last year.
NBC 10’s Molly Levine contributed to this report.