Man kills two people in Woonsocket, R.I., before shooting himself

After the shootings in Woonsocket, R.I., on Monday that left three people dead, Deputy Chief of Police Adam T. Remick said, "there was no active threat to the public."Scott Olson/Getty

A man fatally shot two people inside an apartment in Woonsocket, R.I., on Monday before turning the gun on himself, police said.

At approximately 6:45 p.m., police responded to a report of shots fired and found three wounded people at an apartment on Rathbun Street, according to Deputy Chief Adam T. Remick.

Sean Rivera, 24, allegedly shot Kimberly Pieranunzi, 40, and Donald Roderick Jr., 45, before shooting himself. All died from their injuries, Remick said.

Pieranunzi lived in the apartment with her boyfriend, Roderick, her 19-year-old daughter, and Rivera, her daughter’s boyfriend, police said.

Remick said the investigation revealed that Rivera and his girlfriend “were discussing their strained relationship” when Rivera “pulled a gun and demanded sexual relations.”

The girlfriend said Rivera sexually assaulted her before she ran into her mother’s bedroom. Rivera got into the bedroom and allegedly shot Pieranunzi multiple times, Remick said.

The girlfriend was able to escape the building when Roderick “happened to come home to the apartment from work,” Remick said. Rivera shot him and “ultimately shot himself.”

The 19-year-old called police from a local business to report the shootings, Remick said.

Police recovered a gun that Rivera had in his possession and determined it had been reported stolen from Maine, Remick said.

“This incident was specific to the residents of the apartment, there was no active threat to the public,” Remick said.