LONDON — Police launched a murder investigation Wednesday after a man died 13 years after he was shot at a bar in London.
Marvin Couson was confined to a hospital bed and unable to communicate for more than a decade after being shot in the chest in 2002.
The 36-year-old died earlier this month because of a brain injury that was a direct result from the shooting, London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
Investigators are "committed to finding the person who shot Marvin that night," Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh said.
"A lot changes in 13 years and maybe you knew something at the time but were too nervous to speak to us," McHugh said in a statement appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Couson, who was aged 26 at the time of the incident, was among hundreds of people who fled after hearing shots fired inside a venue known as the Lime Bar in the capital's Shoreditch area.
"The person who pulled the trigger needs to be caught and we need justice for Marvin"
One of Couson's friends told police that he later heard another shot and then found him shot on the ground.
Couson suffered injuries to his heart and internal organs and was left bed-bound and unable to communicate or understand anything said to him after the shooting.
Couson's sisters, Margaret and Deborah, said that witnesses not helping police had allowed Couson's killer to escape justice.
"By staying silent and not helping police you have allowed the murderer to walk free," they said in a statement. "The person who pulled the trigger needs to be caught and we need justice for Marvin."
