Gun found in trash after student is shot

A gun also was found under the passenger seat in the victim's car.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A handgun was found in a trash can near the St. Elizabeth Health Center emergency room parking lot after gunshot victim Tyrell C. Surles, a college student, was taken there by his companion, police said.
Surles, 18, of Harvard Avenue, was in critical condition Thursday in the hospital. Surles is a student at Youngstown State University, YSU spokesman Ron Cole said.
Capt. Robert Kane, chief of detectives, said Thursday that detectives are sorting out what Surles' companion, a 20-year-old Clifton Avenue man, says happened because the man gave conflicting statements. Kane said Surles, who was shot in the mouth, will be interviewed as soon as he is able to answer questions.
An anonymous tipster who called the hospital around 2:45 a.m. Thursday said he saw a man toss something in the hospital parking lot after Surles was brought there about 10 p.m. Wednesday. A .380-caliber handgun was then found by hospital police and turned over to city police.
What companion said
Surles' companion told city police that the shooting happened just before 10 p.m. Wednesday as they drove south on Wirt Street near Otis Street in a white 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier. The companion said several shots were fired at them from a white Oldsmobile, and Surles, the driver, was hit in the head, reports show.
Surles' companion told police the Chevrolet hit the curb and then he got in on the driver's side after dragging Surles to the passenger side of the car. Police said the companion wasn't able to explain how he was able to stop a moving vehicle from the passenger side. The Clifton Avenue man also said at one point that Surles fell out of the car after being shot.
The crime scene included a yield traffic sign that had been driven over by a car, reports show.
Police said Surles' companion was shot in the hand two weeks ago.
During the time police were talking to the companion, there were reports of shots fired in the Clifton-Harvard area -- the neighborhood of Surles and his companion.
Detective Sgts. Daryl Martin and Ron Rodway also interviewed Surles' companion, who denied any involvement in the shooting.
Later, though, crime lab investigators found a loaded handgun under the passenger seat of the Chevrolet and a shell casing from another gun. The companion was interviewed again and admitted he shot back at the suspects, saying he was afraid at first to tell police because he feared going to jail.