Rhode Island man accused of fatally injuring himself, seriously injuring wife with gunfire

Police are investigating after two people were shot early this morning, one fatally.

According to police, just before 2:15 a.m. this morning, the Woonsocket Police Department received a 911 call from Fairmount Street.

The caller stated that a male subject shot his wife and then himself.

Officers responded to the home and located 52-year-old Walter Lopez deceased from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

Lopez’s 34-year-old wife was injured with a gunshot wound to her right thigh. Officers applied tourniquets to her leg to control bleeding and Woonsocket Rescue transported her to Rhode Island Hospital where she remains in serious condition.

Officers located two children in the home uninjured.

Toni Marie Gomes, executive director, Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center, and Lucy Rios, executive director, Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence stated that children who witness domestic violence need support and trauma-informed care from the systems that respond, including law enforcement and family services which can support children’s resilience and well-being.

“Research shows that supportive, nurturing family relationships can promote positive outcomes for children exposed to domestic abuse. Making sure children remain in the care of the non-abusive parent or the non-offending parent’s family members as systems respond to domestic violence can mitigate the impacts of trauma.”

The scene is currently being processed by the Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Detective Division.