Man wounded in drive-by shooting in Gulfport

GULFPORT -- Police are investigating a drive-by shooting reported in the Gaston Point area that has wounded a man.

Police Sgt. Damon McDaniel said dispatchers received a call of shots fired at 12:37 p.m. Thursday at Brothers Mini Mart, 4613 Old Pass Road. The area is a block and a half from Gaston Point Elementary School.

Police then received a call that a gunshot victim had been taken to a hospital. The wounded man was driven there in a private vehicle.

Initial investigation indicates the man was standing in front of the store when a westbound silver Cadillac drove by and someone inside it fired at him, McDaniel said.

The shooting is believed to be the second this year at the same address. The store was known as M&S Food Mart when a teenager was shot to death while his car was stolen.

McDaniel said it's not clear what led to the shooting and police were uncertain if anyone else was in the Cadillac. It's also not yet known how many shots were fired or how many struck the man.

McDaniel said the person who fired the gun is considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 868-5959 or Crime Stoppers at 1-877-787-5898. Or tipsters can text CSTIP plus a message to CRIMES (274637).

McDaniel said the store may have surveillance video that can help in the investigation.

A woman sitting with friends Thursday afternoon outside her home across the street from the store said she was in her house when the shots were fired.

"I heard about five shots," she said. She said she went to her front door to look out and saw two or three people picking up a man and putting him in a car. She didn't know if they knew the man. The woman said she's lived in the neighborhood three years and said its not uncommon for unsavory people to gather outside the store.

"It's not the store," she said. "It's just the people that are out there."

Raymond Howze III, 19, of Gulfport died of gunshot wounds outside the store Jan. 11 when it was known as M&S Food Mart. Gulfport Police Chief Leonard Papania has said Howze was an innocent victim killed by a man who stole his car.

D'Juan Holloway, arrested in Howze's death, faces a capital murder charge.

Holloway was captured in New Mexico after a high-speed chase and a shootout with police. Gulfport police have said he was driving Howze's 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt.

Holloway was wounded in the shootout and taken to a Texas hospital. He has not yet been extradited to Gulfport.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Man wounded in drive-by shooting in Gulfport ."