By Tiffany Williams –
Worcester, Massachusetts — A man shows up at the emergency room with a gunshot wound in the middle of the night, dropped off and left behind. Within minutes, police are racing to find the vehicle that brought him there—and what they uncover raises even more questions.
At approximately 1:40AM on Friday, March 20th, Worcester Police responded to UMass Memorial Medical Center – Memorial Campus Emergency Room at 119 Belmont St, for a report of a male gunshot victim. The victim was dropped off at the hospital at around 1:31AM. The hospital notified Worcester police that the male was shot in the left leg.
Responding officers located the male with a through and through gunshot wound to the left leg in the ER. The victim is 44 years old. He was alive, but the silence that followed would only deepen the mystery.
At 1:53AM Officers who responded to the hospital were able to provide dispatch with a description of the vehicle that dropped the victim off at the hospital. The clock is ticking. Someone knows something. Someone drove that car.
At 2:03AM an officer on patrol in the area of Main Street and Hitchcock Street located the vehicle and pulled it over. Just minutes later, at 2:07AM, officers informed dispatch they had recovered a firearm.
Police say the operator of that vehicle is 40-year-old Carlos M Acevedo of Southbridge. He confirmed he transported the victim to the hospital. During the interaction, officers learned a firearm was in the trunk. A handgun was recovered. Acevedo did not have a license to carry.
He is now facing felony charges: FIREARM, CARRY WITHOUT LICENSE c269 §10(a), and AMMUNITION WITHOUT FID CARD, POSSESS c269 §10(h)(1).
Back at the hospital, detectives tried to speak with the victim. He declined to provide additional information. No explanation. No details. Just a gunshot wound and unanswered questions.
Acevedo was arraigned in Worcester District Court Friday morning before Judge Pacifico M DeCapua. The Commonwealth moved for a dangerousness hearing. He was ordered held without bail pending that hearing and is being held at the Worcester County House of Correction.
This case is far from over. A man is shot. A driver leaves him at a hospital. A gun is found. And the victim isn’t talking.
Worcester Police say the investigation remains active. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Worcester Police Department Detective Bureau.
_______________________________
Dylan Azari contributed to this story