Rhys witness 'saw hoodie gunman'
- 00:01:30
- ITN
Rhys witness 'saw hoodie gunman'
A teenage witness has told the Rhys Jones murder trial he saw a hooded gunman seconds before and after the boy was shot. The 14-year-old was sitting with a friend in a tree behind the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth, Liverpool, where Rhys, 11, was killed. In a taped police interview played to the jury, the witness said: "I saw a lad aged about 13 or 14 riding past really fast on a black BMX bike. He had a black tracksuit on and a black hoodie on. "He went around the side of the pub and about three seconds after we lost sight of him we heard the shots. A few seconds after that, he came back riding very quickly. "He was trying to put something in his pocket and wobbled his bike and went on to the grass. My friend jumped off the tree and everybody was shouting to go in the pub." The witness described in detail the "shiny" black tracksuit and trainers the gunman was wearing as well as the woollen hoodie which came out from under the jacket. He also described the sound of the three gunshots as "high pitched" and said he initially thought it was a cap gun. The boy ran with his friend to the front of the pub where Rhys was on the ground. He said: "I could see Rhys on the floor and everybody was saying 'Don't look, don't look'. "He was on the floor and his head was on the kerb. All the people were screaming 'He's been shot'. Rhys was killed on August 22 last year as he crossed the front car park of the pub on his way home from football training. The prosecution says Sean Mercer, 18, blasted three shots across the car park after targeting members of a rival gang who had strayed on to his turf. A bullet struck Rhys in the neck and the youngster died in his mother Melanie's arms a short time later. The youngster said he knew Rhys as they played in the same junior football league and often spoke after their teams played each other. He had watched him at football practice shortly before the shooting. Mercer, of Croxteth, denies murder. James Yates, 20, of Dodman Road, Croxteth, Gary Kays, 25, of Mallard Close, and Melvin Coy, 24, of Abbeyfield Drive, both West Derby, Liverpool, deny assisting an offender alongside two boys aged 16 and 17, who cannot be identified. A second 17-year-old boy denies assisting an offender and possessing a firearm and ammunition.
ITN | October 14, 2008
