On the evening of September 23, 2023, a 27-year-old Hispanic man named Emuel Plaza, also known as Emmanuel Torres Plaza, was fatally shot in Central Falls, Rhode Island. The incident occurred around 9:15 p.m. in a parking lot at the intersection of Dexter Street and Sumner Avenue. Plaza, a beloved barber, was walking to his car after finishing his shift at a nearby barbershop when he was shot multiple times.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into Plaza's death quickly led law enforcement to a suspect, 39-year-old Luis Lopez of Pawtucket. Through video surveillance, police identified a suspect vehicle. About an hour after the shooting, police in Plainville, Massachusetts, responded to a report of a car fire and a witness saw a suspect fleeing the scene. That suspect was later detained and identified as Lopez, who was found in possession of two firearms, a bulletproof vest, gloves, and a mask. Investigators determined that the vehicle set on fire was the same one seen at the shooting.
Authorities have stated that Lopez and Plaza knew each other and that the shooting was believed to be a targeted attack. Plaza's mother indicated that there had been an ongoing feud between her son and Lopez, and that she had even spoken to Lopez months prior, begging him not to harm her son. It was discovered that Lopez had recently been released from prison in Massachusetts after serving a 15-year sentence for manslaughter.
Luis Lopez was taken into custody in Massachusetts and is awaiting extradition to Rhode Island. He has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Emuel Plaza. On March 1, 2024, a Providence County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Lopez with murder, discharge of a firearm resulting in death, and multiple firearm and body armor possession offenses.
