PROVIDENCE – Police are investigating whether “any criminal factors were involved” when a building partially collapsed during a graduation party on Saturday evening in Portsmouth, R.I., killing a 15-year-old girl and injuring four other people, officials said.
“We have asked the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office to assist us with this investigation,” Portsmouth police said in a statement released on Monday afternoon. “The criminal investigation by the Detective Division is separate from the review being conducted by the building official and the town planner.”
Asked how long the investigation could take, Deputy Chief of Police Michael J. Morse wrote in an email on Tuesday that authorities “do not place specific timelines on these matters.”
“However, I can assure you that our Detective Division is working diligently and thoroughly, in coordination with the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, to determine all the circumstances and whether any criminal conduct was involved,” Morse wrote.
According to police, officers responded on Saturday around 5:34 p.m. to the Portuguese American Citizens Club at 35 Power St., after receiving a report of a structural collapse with multiple injuries.
Authorities said a concrete landing that led to the club’s second-floor entrance at the top of an exterior stairway “detached from the building and collapsed downward.”
A 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl, both of Portsmouth, were trapped beneath the landing, police said.
The 15-year-old girl was killed in the incident, while the 17-year-old remained hospitalized in critical condition as of Tuesday morning, according to police.
Three people who were standing on the landing at the time of the collapse were also injured, authorities said: “A 19-year-old female resident of Little Compton was treated and released from the hospital, a 49-year-old female resident of Merrillville, Ind., remains hospitalized with serious injuries, and a 46-year-old male resident of Portsmouth suffered a minor injury and was not hospitalized.”
“Out of respect for the privacy of the families, the name of the deceased juvenile will not be released at this time,” police said. “Similarly, the names of those injured are being withheld during their ongoing recovery.”
In a letter to the school community on Sunday that was shared with the Globe, Portsmouth School Department Superintendent Thomas Kenworthy wrote that “several of our students were involved in a devastating accident yesterday afternoon, resulting in the death of one of our students and serious injuries to other students.”
“This tragedy deeply impacts our entire district community,” Kenworthy wrote.
Students from Little Compton, R.I. also attend Portsmouth High School.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Portuguese American Citizens Club wrote “this tragedy has shaken us all to our core.”
“It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that we acknowledge this unthinkable tragedy that has befallen our community,” the club wrote. “The Portsmouth Portuguese American Citizens Club has always taken pride in providing a venue at which our community can congregate and celebrate.
“Words, neither written or spoken, can express the sorrow with which we are all stricken,” the post continued. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all involved and affected.”
In response to a request for comment on Monday, the club pointed to the post and added, “We are heart broken.”
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation by the town’s building official, Howie Tighe, the town’s assistant fire chief, wrote in an email on Monday.
“This is an active investigation, at this time all questions are directed to the Portsmouth Police department,” Matthew S. Kent, the town’s building official, wrote in an email on Monday afternoon.
The town’s online tax assessor database shows the building was built in 1946 and had an assessed value of $638,600 as of 2024.
According to Kenworthy’s letter, grief counseling was scheduled to be available to students at Portsmouth High School on Sunday afternoon.
Schools were slated to be open on Monday and “counselors will be available at all Portsmouth schools in the coming days, and we encourage anyone who needs support to reach out to any member of our district mental health staff or a school administrator,” Kenworthy wrote. Students could receive additional mental health support by calling Newport Mental Health at 401-846-1213, he wrote.
“We know you may have questions,” Kenworthy wrote. “At this time, out of respect for the privacy of the families involved, we are unable to provide further information. Our thoughts and prayers are with these families during this difficult time.”
This story has been updated to include comments from the Portuguese American Citizens Club, and new information from Portsmouth police.
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