NEW PORT RICHEY - Joe Martell loved to take his son hunting and fishing, and he never missed a Chasco Fiesta street parade, according to friends and relatives.

Three weekends ago, a gunman killed the 34-year-old, who had moved to Homosassa after growing up here. Martell was standing on Grand Boulevard outside of Hot Shotz Bar and Grill, police said, when a man named Max Wesley Horn Jr. shot him several times at close range with a .45-caliber handgun.

Now Martell's mother, Mary Martell of New Port Richey, has set up a trust fund for her 7-year-old grandson, Travis J. Martell.

The Shady Hills Elementary School first-grader is receiving counseling to help him cope with his loss, and family members hope to raise enough money to start a college tuition fund, Mary Martell said Friday.

Donations can be made to the Travis J. Martell Trust Fund at any Wachovia branch, a bank spokeswoman said.

David Sommer