Providence arrests 30 near college

Providence Police arrested 30 individuals across two nights of large gatherings near Providence College this weekend. The detentions occurred in the vicinity of PC Mart, a convenience store located one block from the campus.

Officers made 13 arrests on Friday night after a crowd assembled near the store. On Saturday, the night of Halloween, police detained 17 more people. Many of these arrests took place before midnight.

Video footage from Saturday night captured a fight near the gas pumps at a nearby station. Officers appeared to use pepper spray while attempting to control the crowd. Local news outlet WJAR witnessed the scuffles and the subsequent detentions.

Will Kennedy, a student at Providence College, noted the high volume of arrests. "Es una gran cantidad de personas detenidas en dos noches," he said. Kennedy observed that many attendees in the neighborhood were strangers to the student body.

"No vi ni una sola cara conocida, lo cual resulta bastante sorprendente," Kennedy added. Other students expressed a similar view, stating that most of the people in the area did not appear to be enrolled at the university.

Matt Debes, a senior, asked the public not to assume that Providence College students were responsible for the disturbances. The university released a statement clarifying that, based on available information, the arrested individuals came from other areas of the city and elsewhere. The incidents took place off campus.

These events have drawn renewed attention to large crowds forming near the campus during Halloween celebrations. Last year, a large gathering formed on Eaton Street and surrounding areas. Reports indicated fights and assaults occurred, but Providence Police stated that no arrests were made during that previous year's events.