Senior Reporter
anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt
A St James man was killed while his friend was wounded during a shooting on Wednesday night.
The deceased was identified as Mark Anthony Ellis, 28, of Dibe Road, Long Circular, St James.
Ellis’ 20-year-old friend from De Frietas Street, St James, was also left nursing a gunshot wound to the right lower abdomen and remained in stable condition at the hospital yesterday.
Officers on patrol around 10.55 pm on Wednesday were notified that gunshots had been heard coming from Alfred Richards Street, St James. Upon checking, they found Ellis’ body lying in a track leading off De Freitas Road.
Ellis was declared dead at the scene, while his friend was treated at the St James Infirmary before being transferred to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.
Reports indicate the duo had been liming under a shed near to Alfred Richards Street, when a silver Nissan Almera stopped and two armed men got out and started shooting at them.
As both men took off running towards De Freitas Street, Ellis was shot several times and fell to the ground, where he died.
Four spent 9mm shell casings were recovered at the scene.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, investigations are continuing into a killing on Tuesday, in which Kendell Francis was shot dead at a house at Hundred Acre, Wallerfield.
The 43-year-old, of Moosai Road, Diego Martin, was shot in the head several times.
Officers on patrol in Cumuto were notified that gunshots had been heard coming from the small house at 11.45 pm. They later found Francis lying face down in a pool of blood. They also found Francis’ red Nissan Sylphy parked on the gravel road, with the house light on and the right rear door open. Approximately ten 5.56mm spent shell casings were recovered at the scene.
Francis’ car was later towed to the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU) in Cumuto.
In another incident, the body of a man discovered lying along the Guayaguayare Road, Mayaro, near Grand Lagoon Village around 5.30 am on Wednesday, was yet to be identified up to yesterday.
Officers on patrol came across the body of the east-Indian man on the western side of the roadway. He was wearing a black short pants and red and black boxers. The victim had been shot multiple times about the body.
Approximately 50 feet away along a dirt track, officers found a blue and white cloth soaked in blood.
Acting on information, officers later went to Mischier Street, St Ann’s Village, Mayaro, where they found a blood trail and other items of clothing along with a pair of sneakers believed to belong to the dead man.