Shooting suspects still at large; police release surveillance video

Dave Rogers, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·2 min read

Nov. 16—AMESBURY — As the search for two men wanted in the Monday shooting of a Mill Street resident continues, local police Tuesday afternoon released a video clip from a security camera inside the building that shows the two suspects leaving.

Police say Robert Coote was shot in the knee by one of two men he knew who stole a floor safe from his home about 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Coote, 26, was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. He later gave police investigators a statement from the hospital.

The short video clip shows one suspect, wearing a North Face hooded sweatshirt, carrying a black trash bag. The second suspect runs out of the room into the hallway, tripping before also leaving the building. Over the years, Coote has had several run-ins with law enforcement and has served jail time for dealing drugs and other offenses, according to Newburyport District Court records.

The robbers, described as white men with shaved heads, got into a 2019 gray Nissan Altima and drove away. They remained at large as of Tuesday afternoon, according to local police. Police combed the area near 11 1/2 Mill St., a boarding house, using several officers on foot and a Seabrook K-9 unit mostly as a precaution.

Minutes after the shooting, a neighbor said she saw two men sprinting up Mill Street toward the intersection of Friend and Main streets — one of them falling down before hopping into the Nissan.

An Amesbury police officer was then seen entering her home to get a statement.

The building, which Amesbury police Chief Craig Bailey said police have visited many times over the years, is owned by Mocado Realty Trust and was last assessed at $411,700.

Mocado Realty Trust bought the multi-unit house for $315,000 in 2017. It was built in 1926, according to the city's online assessor's database.

Anyone with information regarding Monday's shooting is asked to contact the Amesbury Police Department at 978-388-1212.

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.