On a Halloween night that turned tragic, James Goddard, a 28-year-old Black man, was shot and killed in Providence, Rhode Island. The fatal shooting occurred on October 31, 2017, in the Chad Brown housing project, marking a grim end to a life that had narrowly escaped a similar fate just months earlier.
That evening, police were called to Berkshire Street where they discovered Goddard with a gunshot wound to his chest.
He was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital but did not survive his injuries. This was not the first time Goddard had been a target of gun violence. In May of the same year, he had been shot multiple times in a daytime attack on Fillmore Street, an incident he managed to survive.
James Goddard was remembered as a loving and funny young man who was devoted to his family. He was a father and was known for his protective nature and respectful demeanor towards his elders. His death left a void in the lives of his loved ones, who mourned the loss of a man with aspirations of becoming a business owner.
Despite the violent nature of his death, information regarding any arrests or identified suspects in the shooting has not been made publicly available. The investigation into the homicide that cut short the life of James Goddard remains without a publicly announced resolution, leaving questions unanswered for his grieving family and community.
