Mayaro man shot dead after two attempts on his life

On his first day back to work after he suffering injuries in two chopping incidents over the Christmas holidays, Mayaro mason Joel Ellis was fatally shot.

Ellis, 36, a father of two, was shot in the head while his brother in law Michael Singh, 25, was shot in the leg when a gunman opened fire on them while they were constructing a concrete wall at a residence at Inner Mafeking Village, Mayaro.

According to a police report, between 9 am and 10 am a man wearing a face mask and fisher hat armed with a firearm and a cutlass approached Ellis, Singh, and another worker Roland Belcon, 35, and opened fire. Ellis of Logwood Village, Mafeking Village died on the scene. Belcon was not injured.

The gunman then ran into a forested area.

Ellis’ wife Rachel Issac believes that the gunman came for her husband. She recalled that on Christmas Day he had an altercation with a villager who chopped him on his finger, hand, and nose. Days later he had an altercation with another villager who chopped him on his head and hand. Following those incidents, she said her husband received threats and had reported it to the police. However, she said the police never arrested anyone in connection with the chopping incidents or the threats.

Ellis was the sole financial provider in the family.

While she wants to see her husband’s killer brought to justice, she was not confident that he would be arrested.

“Somehow I don’t feel I will get any justice for this,” lamented Issac.