The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 14-year-old Abaco student shot in the leg during Monday’s daylight killing of Warren “Spy” Ellis was simply leaving an auto parts store after buying a drink when gunmen opened fire, his pastor said yesterday.

The Patrick J Bethel High School eighth-grader was not related to Ellis and was not travelling with him, according to Pastor Beabrun Bresslin, senior pastor of New Haitian Mission Baptist Church in Marsh Harbour.The boy had stopped at Parts City Auto Parts on his way home from school and was leaving when the shooting erupted. Ellis, a 50-year-old suspected drug dealer, was walking behind him.

The teenager was struck in the right leg. Videos from the scene showed him dropping his school bag and hopping back towards the store after the gunfire.

He was airlifted to New Providence on Monday night and discharged from hospital yesterday.

Pastor Bresslin said doctors determined that the bullet passed through the flesh of the boy’s leg without causing more serious damage.

“They said all night they was up but the doctor checked him often and they did all their checks and said everything is alright,” he said. “They told them the bullet gone through the meat side…and come out.”

The teen’s parents accompanied him to New Providence, but the family struggled to remain there because they have no relatives in the capital and could not afford accommodation.

His mother is a housewife and his father does not have stable employment, Pastor Bresslin said. The parents spent Monday night at the hospital because they had nowhere else to stay.

“They don’t have money for that,” he said.

Doctors had advised that the teenager remain in New Providence for several weeks for follow-up checks, according to Pastor Bresslin.

He said the family had been trying to secure a hospital letter allowing the boy to return to Abaco and receive follow-up care at the Marsh Harbour clinic.

The family ultimately returned to Abaco yesterday after Pastor Bresslin purchased their tickets.

He said he spoke with the teenager and his parents and that the boy was physically doing well, although the experience had shaken him.

“I talked to him, and I asked him how he felt and he told me he’s okay, but he’s in shock,” Pastor Bresslin said.

The church intends to arrange counselling for the teenager after his recovery.

Pastor Bresslin, who is also appealing for help with the family’s medical and travel expenses, can be reached at 476-2874.

Octervil Baptiste, president of the Abaco Haitian Pastors Association, also pushed back against social media speculation suggesting the teenager had some connection to Ellis.

“I don’t think many people know of the situation like that,” Mr Baptiste said. “He was not related to him. He was not catching a ride or anything with the victim. He was passing by the store, and he stopped by the store to get something to drink. That’s something that could happen to anyone.”

He said he hoped police would quickly identify and arrest those responsible.

Police have said five gunmen carried out the attack. The video showed four gunmen armed with high-powered weapons approaching as Ellis walked behind the teenager.

It remained unclear yesterday whether anyone had been taken into custody.

The Cadillac getaway vehicle was later found abandoned and burned.

Police sources suspect Ellis’ killing was retaliatory.

Ellis had long been publicly linked to alleged criminal activity, although cases against him were repeatedly discontinued.

In 2001, he was charged with murder and attempted murder after nurse Joan Lunn was killed at Princess Margaret Hospital during an alleged hit on a patient.

Those charges were later dropped after Ellis agreed to testify against Kendon Brown, who was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

In 2008, Ellis and an extradited drug dealer were charged with the 2000 murder of Timothy Henfield.

That case was stayed the following year after the prosecution’s key witness recanted.

In 2018, Ellis and his wife were arrested after police found more than $13,000 in their luggage at Lynden Pindling International Airport while they were reportedly travelling to Canada. Those charges were later dropped.

Monday’s killing was Abaco’s second murder of the year and the 52nd recorded in The Bahamas so far this year, according to The Tribune’s records.