Joel Figuero, 13, Murdered-Providence, R.I.

[cannongal]

From :http://www.630wpro.com/Article.asp?id=2342439&spid=38785

A 13-year-old was gunned down in his home on Sumter street in Providence after answering a knock at the front door at about 12:30 a.m. Monday. The victim has been identified as Joel Figuero, an eighth grader in Providence schools.



Mayor Angel Taveras said the city will be very proactive in bringing the shooter to justice."We will also be doing everything we can to make sure the person responsible for this is brought to justice but it’s a very sad day in the city of Providence," said Taveras.



The victim was pronounced dead on the scene. Family and friends gathered in the living room to mourn the loss of the child and indicated two holes in the wall they say were a result of bullets.



"It is a horrible tragedy. It is an eighth grader in our schools. It is something that obviously touches all of us and I will be reaching out to the family. I have already spoken to the commissioner about this and we will be doing everything we can to assist this family in this horrible time," said Taveras.

Taveras said any violence in Providence is too much and he is particularly concerned with the amount of violence over the past few days. This murder marks the second homicide in two days in Providence.



This marks the 12^th murder this year in the city.

[cannongal]

Hear is a second article about it...Not sure whether the poor boy is 13 or 14 (Conflicting reports). It also appears his last name may or may not have an a at the end. It is spelled different ways in different articles.


From:
http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2011/nov/2...ar-843494/

PROVIDENCE --

A Providence teenager was fatally shot in his home early Monday after answering a knock at the front door, police said.

An unknown assailant opened fire on Joel Figuereo after he opened the door at about 12:30 a.m., Detective Lt. Paul Campbell said. He said the boy was found in a parlor attached to the living room where he was shot.

The Sumter Street killing in South Providence struck close to home for Mayor Angel Taveras, who lived a few houses away from Figuereo's residence as a child and shares other common ground with the young shooting victim.

"He could have literally been me when I was in high school," Taveras told The Associated Press. "It is really the toughest day that I've had as mayor. I'll be speaking to his family tonight and I do not know what words to use."

Figuereo, a middle school student, is the city's 12^th homicide victim of the year. No arrests have been made. Police and Taveras say Figuereo was 14 years old, while his friends and family say he was 13.

Family friends said Figuereo moved from the Dominican Republic about two years ago and aspired to be a lawyer.

Taveras, the city's first Hispanic mayor, is the son of Dominican immigrants, who attended Harvard University as an undergraduate and has a law degree from Georgetown University.

"Fourteen-year-old kids are not supposed to die and they certainly should be safe in their home," Taveras said. "This is a tragedy for the city and for the state."

Loved ones gathered Monday in the living room where Figuereo was shot to mourn his death. They pointed to two holes in the wall, labeled Nos. 1 and 2, that they said were caused by bullets. Teny Gross, executive director of The Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence in Providence, was there to comfort loved ones. Two investigators also were there.

"He wanted to be a lawyer," said Luis Gonzalez, 21, a family friend who left the home an hour before the shooting. "He was smart."

Family friends said Figuereo was sitting on a couch with his brother, Raymond, when he went to answer a knock at the door. They said a gathering of friends had broken up at the home about an hour earlier and Figuereo was going about checking his Facebook account and selecting clothes to wear to school. Raymond Figuereo was too distraught to speak with The Associated Press.

Campbell said investigators have not determined whether Figuereo was the intended target. Family friends said Figuereo was a "good, brave kid" who stayed clear of trouble, supported his mother and was an innocent victim.

"It's terrible. It wasn't for him. It was most likely for someone else," said Carlos Bueno, 20, who made it to the crime scene in time to witness Figuereo's body being removed from the home. "It was just he opened the door and whoever was there was getting it. If they would have seen anybody else they would have taken out everybody else."

Maria Cuello, 21, said Figuereo made a bottle for his 1-year-old cousin, Lisvett, and played with her several hours before the shooting.

She noted Figuereo adapted quickly after moving to Rhode Island.

"He learned English so quick," she said.

Officials at Providence Public Schools issued a statement extending their condolences. The school system declined to identify the school Figuereo attended. His friends said Figuereo was a student at Esek Hopkins Middle School.

A 21-year-old woman, Esscence Christal, was also fatally shot over the weekend.

"This is a bad weekend," Gross said.

Autopsy results for Figuereo are pending.

[Jezreel]

This is really sad and unfortunate..... I wonder if the person who shot Joel was associated with any of the people at the house earlier? I hope they find the person too.

Maybe it's just me, but does it seem odd when describing Joel, they used the word 'brave'
Family friends said Figuereo was a "good, brave kid"

I wonder if there had been any trouble before, or maybe they had reasons to leave the Dominican, either way, a child died for no reason.