Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
A gun battle involving at least four weapons in Rankin on Saturday left one man dead and his companion in jail, according to police.
The medical examiner’s office identified the victim Sunday night as Emery Brice Heard-Ellis. His passenger, Marcus H. Carter, 29, faces a slew of charges, including aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy.
The shooting began about 9 p.m., and a Rankin police officer at the scene near the intersection of Chartiers Avenue and Gas Street arrived in time to see a man later identified as Heard-Ellis fall to the ground, according to the complaint against Carter.
Police allege Carter was the passenger in a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Heard-Ellis. The pair drove to a home on Gas Street and opened fire at four people sitting on the porch, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators recovered casings and guns from the scene that indicated at least four weapons were used in the shootout, police said.
Two witnesses told police they saw the Jeep drive toward the home and someone open fire from the passenger seat, according to the complaint.
Investigators said one or two people on the porch returned fire, and Carter and the victim got out of the Jeep and a gunfight ensued. A witness told police he ran from the porch into the home, retrieved his own gun and returned fire, according to the complaint.
That witness, who police said has a valid concealed carry permit, hit one of the men. The 21-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the scene about 12 minutes after the gunfire began.
Investigators said Carter told them he knew Heard-Ellis only as “Vinny,” and he’d asked him for a ride to “go and fight an individual that had just beat up his mother.”
Carter told police that someone began shooting at the Jeep, at which point he said he grabbed Heard-Ellis’s gun and shot back, according to the complaint. Police said Carter denied having his own gun even when confronted with the evidence showing four weapons were involved.
Carter is charged aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, recklessly endangering another person and firearm violations.
Anyone with information is asked to call county police at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
Megan Guza and Paul Peirce are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, mguza@tribweb.com or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/man-killed-in-shootout-in-rankin/