Irony: Two Men Charged in Shooting Outside Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence

In an amazing coincidence, one of them is an illegal alien who'd already been deported. See, this is what happens when you don't have bilingual signage.

The two men charged in Friday's double shooting outside the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence have been involved in gunfire in South Providence before -- one as a victim and the other as a shooter, according to the police.

Mario Lopez, 49, of the Dominican Republic, and Jonathan Espinal, 21, of Providence, are due to be arraigned Monday afternoon at District Court, Providence, for the shooting of two men inside a car parked outside the institute's building on Oxford Street. Ivan Soto, 21, and Freylin Ortiz, 18, both of South Providence, were waiting for a friend, who was inside the building, when a masked man shot them.

A witness saw the masked gunman fleeing in a van, which was stopped by police on Broadway soon after the shooting, police Maj. Thomas F. Oates III said. Lopez and a woman driving the van were taken into custody, Oates said.

The woman was released, but Detectives Emilio Matos Jr. and Daniel O'Connell charged Lopez with being involved with the shooting, Oates said. At the same time, the detectives found that Lopez was also responsible for the shooting of a 25-year-old man on Public Street last November, Oates said.

The detectives also drew a warrant for Espinal, charging him as a triggerman in Friday's shooting. Espinal found out he was wanted on Sunday, and he contacted Detective Robert Melaragno to turn himself in, Oates said.

The situation was different for Espinal just three months ago, when someone shot at him and two friends as they sat in a car in South Providence. None of them were injured.

At the time, Espinal was identified as having ties to MOP, the Members of Pine Street gang. The gang has been feuding for several years with C-Block, from the Congress Avenue area. And the feud has resulted in young men wounded and killed on both sides.

Oates declined to speak about the possible motive for the shooting on Friday and whether Soto and Ortiz were the intended targets. The friend they'd brought to the Institute was formerly involved with one of the warring groups, but the institute's executive director said on Friday the young man had tried to leave the life behind eight months ago by moving out of the city and getting a job.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on Lopez, who illegally re-entered the United States from the Dominican Republic, Oates said.

Seems like one of the most dangerous places in Providence is outside the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence.