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RI AG’s gun crimes report shows rising enforcement of magazine limits
The number of cases charged rose from 304 in 2024 to 384 in 2025.
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s annual “gun crimes” report shows that authorities have increased their enforcement of a new law that makes it illegal to carry a magazine holding more than 10 rounds.
Working with police, prosecutors charged 384 of the magazine cases in 2025 compared with 304 in 2024, says the report, which many regard as a kind of barometer on gun control in the state.
A 2022 law limits higher-capacity magazines. Illegal magazines were recovered at the scenes of two recent mass shootings, one at Brown University in December and the other at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket in February.
Neronha references both shootings prominently and with sadness in his opening to the report, which he compiles each year in accordance with state law.
“Whether gun crimes have trended up or down in 2025 (they have trended up a bit) is almost a moot point when a community as tight-knit as Rhode Island is still mourning in the aftermath of such tragedies,” Neronha writes. “And yet, our Office continues to work tirelessly to address gun violence.”
The report shows that prosecutors:
The report notes that on Oct. 31, 2025, a judge gave a life prison sentence to 28-year-old Jovon Depina for murdering Jovani Velez with a ghost gun.
A total of 418 of the 498 new cases were charged in Providence County.
On Oct. 23, 2025, 53-year-old Luis Sepulveda was found guilty of murder and of possessing a large-capacity feeding device.
Ariana Wohl, board chair for the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said the volume of magazine cases shows the significance of the new law.
“That’s hundreds of potential acts of violence that were interrupted,” Wohl said.
“Prevention is sometimes hard to recognize,” Wohl said, “because the violence isn’t happening, but these kind of cases help us show that … having the laws on the books matters.”
She acknowledged that the public cannot assume that anyone possessing an illegal magazine will commit an act of violence.
“But it only takes one angry person with a high-capacity lethal weapon to create a real tragedy,” she said. “The point of prevention is not to allow for even one.”
Dan Kesler, vice president of Para Bellum Provisions, said he expected an even larger number of magazine cases in 2025.
“So the numbers went up this year for the magazine capacity limit, and I would have expected it would have gone up more than it actually did, because everyone is getting more accustomed to charging those crimes now.”
Kesler’s organization supports the gun-rights community and also provides firearms safety classes.
He also said that actual convictions are a stronger reflection of enforcement activity than arrests and charges.
He said that Para Bellum is working on an analysis of the attorney general’s gun report that will be posted on its website, ParaBellumProvisions.org.
Local News
As warmer weather arrives in New England, so has its annual crop of shark sightings, as some Rhode Island residents recently found out.
The Atlantic Shark Institute, a local research nonprofit, documented several sightings over the weekend. Those observations led them to a porbeagle shark that beached itself and died Sunday afternoon, the organization said on Facebook.
The first sightings began Saturday afternoon at Salty Brine State Beach in Narragansett. Witnesses said the shark was found wedged in rocks by the breakwater but eventually freed itself and swam in circles, according to Atlantic Shark Institute Executive Director Jon Dodd.
The shark later ended up in the shallow waters of Point Judith Pond and swam towards Billington Cove, where it beached and died the next day. Researchers said they presumed that it was the same shark in both sightings.
Porbeagles aren’t an uncommon sight in New England waters compared to other types of sharks because they prefer colder water, according to Dodd. However, a porbeagle swimming that far into Point Judith Pond is a first for the Atlantic Shark Institute.
Like many sharks, the porbeagle was likely making its way north to follow the colder water as summer approaches and temperatures rise. After it died, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) performed a necropsy and towed it out to sea.
Dodd noted in a statement to Boston.com that the shark never presented a danger to the people who spotted it. In fact, Dodd said, of the near-1,000 shark attacks documented in the International Shark Attack File, only two involved porbeagles, and neither were fatal.
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — In an unexpected development, R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green announced Wednesday she is recommending the state relinquish control of the Providence schools by July 1.
The commissioner will make the recommendation to the R.I. Council on Elementary and Secondary Education on May 26, saying her decision came after “deep deliberation and consultation” with city and state leaders.
“This is an important moment, and I want to be clear: this conversation is happening now because of the work you — the students, families, educators and support staff, the community,” Infante-Green wrote in an open letter to the Providence Public Schools community.
If the handoff is successful, Providence would regain control of its school district for the first time since November 2019, following a devastating Johns Hopkins University report documenting systemic failures.
Infante-Green’s decision represents an about-face from Tuesday when she told reporters that she wanted to begin transitioning the district back to Providence this summer, but with the eventual handoff not happening until July 2027.
“I’m the one who put the line in the sand and said it’s going back in 2027,” Infante-Green said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, internal negotiations spilled into public view, exposing tensions over how the transition would unfold. On Tuesday, Infante-Green spokesperson Victor Morente chastised the Providence School Board for making those internal discussions public.
“Violating the confidentiality of these meetings undermines the mutual trust needed for a successful transition and raises serious questions about board leadership’s ability to manage complex, high-stakes negotiations,” Morente said in a statement.
In a draft order Infante-Green plans to recommend to the council, the commissioner outlined a series of steps the district should take to support its “long-term success.”
“The commissioner hereby states her firm conviction that the progress made by PPSD while it was under state control will not continue, and in fact student achievement in the district will regress, if the following measures, or substantially similar measures, are not undertaken by the responsible parties,” she wrote in the order.
The recommendations include hiring a board coordinator, commissioning a third-party review of governance strategies, properly funding schools and requiring training on the R.I. Code of Ethics.
The state’s nearly seven years running the problem-plagued school district has been a mixed bag. In her letter, Infante-Green cited examples of “measurable progress” during state control, including stronger academic outcomes, higher graduation rates and improvements in chronic absenteeism.
Yet only a third of students are proficient in English language arts, and just 31.4% are proficient in math, according to the latest standardized test scores. Many local and state leaders have also characterized the state takeover as a failed experiment, accusing RIDE of repeatedly moving the goalposts on measures of success and the return of local control.
The timing of the handoff to local control would come at the same time state and local politicians are vying to keep their jobs.
Gov. Dan McKee is trying to fend off a challenge from Democratic rival Helena Foulkes. Foulkes has said, if elected governor, she would fire Infante-Green and return local control to Providence.
McKee said Tuesday “the time has come” for the schools to go back to Providence.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is facing his own Democratic primary challenge from state Rep. David Morales. Both men have supported regaining control of the Providence schools.
According to her draft order, Infante-Green said she would maintain authority over the schools until they are handed off. Until that time, she would retain “the right to rescind or modify” the order, she wrote.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.
Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News and co-hosts Behind the Story. Connect with him on Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter and Bluesky.
Alexandra Leslie (aleslie@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Facebook, X/Twitter and Bluesky.
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Three people were stabbed on a Rhode Island beach Tuesday as hundreds of teenagers packed the area, forcing beachgoers to flee.
The victims were found at Narragansett Town Beach after police officers responded to the crowded scene amid reports of violence. The three unidentified individuals sustained minor stab wounds and were taken to a local hospital for treatment, Narragansett Police said.
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Three people were stabbed Tuesday as hundreds of beachgoers packed Narragansett Town Beach in Rhode Island, police said. (Narragansett Police Department)
No suspects have been identified, and no arrests have been made in connection with the stabbings.
However, several other disturbances broke out as hundreds of people on the beach attempted to leave simultaneously, officials noted. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene.
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Two unidentified adults were arrested and charged with simple assault, resisting arrest, and obstruction of justice. Police noted these arrests did not appear to be related to the stabbings.
The incident came amid a wave of teen violence across the country. Over the weekend, teenagers in Washington, D.C., got into a chaotic brawl inside a Chipotle restaurant. About eight teens could be seen throwing punches and hurling restaurant furniture at one another as innocent bystanders huddled for safety in a corner of the establishment.
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All of the suspects were dressed head-to-toe in black, with some wearing hoods and masks.
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