Evicted HA tenant dies after gunfire.

• Position: NEWS

Byline: Linda Bock and Scott J. Croteau

WORCESTER - A man apparently angry about being evicted from a public housing complex returned yesterday morning to the property where he shot at and chased a neighbor before eventually turning the gun on himself and taking his own life, according to police.

The man, identified by a Worcester Housing Authority official as Phillipe Lacaille, 55, shot at the neighbor at Mill Pond Apartments, which is run by the housing authority. Police credited a city employee with assisting the neighbor whom Mr. Lacaille tried to chase into a McDonald's restaurant across Mill Street from the complex.

Raymond V. Mariano, executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority, said Mr. Lacaille had a long and troubled history with the authority, and his recent eviction from Mill Pond followed a verbal confrontation with authority officials and tenants.

Police said Mr. Lacaille was angry at his neighbors for testifying on the landlord's behalf, and he sought to retaliate against them. Police were called to the area soon after the initial shots were fired. They said Mr. Lacaille ran across the street toward the McDonald's and then toward the nearby Tatnuck Plaza, which includes a pharmacy, hardware store and liquor store. The plaza is at Mill and Chandler streets.

A responding police officer working a private detail nearby tried to stop the gunman, who did not comply with his order to drop the weapon. The gunman then crouched behind a parked vehicle near the liquor store and turned the gun on himself, according to police and witnesses. Several people were nearby when the lethal shot was fired about 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Lacaille was transported to a hospital and soon confirmed dead.

Mr. Mariano said Mr. Lacaille had been a resident of housing authority apartments since 2005 and had

a number of run-ins with fellow tenants over the years. The housing authority took him to court in an effort to evict him from an apartment at 40 Belmont St. Mr. Mariano said the judge allowed him to move to the Mill Pond Apartments several years ago.

"Then we had the same thing here," Mr. Mariano said yesterday morning soon after arriving at the shooting scene. He said Mr. Lacaille had problems getting along with the tenants over the years. He said the housing authority moved to evict him after he made threats during a community meeting several weeks ago.

"He was very aggressive," Mr. Mariano said, adding that Mr. Lacaille was not intimidated by a...