PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The 16-year-old accused of fatally shooting a high school student outside a Providence school earlier this week is a member of a local gang, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office said.
According to a spokesperson from the AG’s office, the suspect appeared in Family Court Friday morning for arraignment and was ordered detained at the Rhode Island Training School until a Sept. 12 probable cause hearing.
The spokesperson said the AG’s office filed a waiver with the court seeking to have the suspect tried as an adult.
The teen – who is not being identified due to his age – is accused in Wednesday’s shooting death of 15-year-old William Parsons outside the Providence Career and Technical Academy on Fricker Street.
Police said they believe Parsons, a Central High School student, was an innocent bystander and not the intended target of the shooting.
The suspect was also taken to the hospital Wednesday. Police said he accidentally shot himself while trying to leave the shooting scene. He was found less than a mile from the school suffering from injuries police said were not life-threatening.
Police said the teen was not a student at PCTA, Central High School, or nearby Classical High School.
