Photo: Twitter/@Barbados

A Calgary man is paralyzed after an intruder shot him in his Barbados vacation rental.

A longtime friend and former colleague says Ken Elliott was on holiday with his wife, brother and sister in law.

Landon Zabloski says he heard from Elliott's wife that the group was playing Scrabble on Saturday night when two men stormed in — one with a machete and one with a gun.

He says Elliott was shot in the spine during a struggle with the attackers, who fled.

Elliott is paralyzed below the collar bone, but has some use of his arms, and is recovering at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Zabloski and other friends are raising funds through a GoFundMe page to help Elliott and his family with medical and other expenses.