Jamel Barnwell Upper Darby Pennsylvania teen, 17, surrenders in East Norriton bowling alley shooting that left one dead and four others injured.
A 17-year-old suspect wanted in a Pennsylvania bowling alley shooting that left one person dead and four others wounded over the weekend has turned himself.
Jamel Barnwell of Upper Darby, is accused of fatally shooting Frank Wade, 29, at Our Town Alley in East Norriton and four others Saturday night and fleeing. Come Sunday night the teen turned himself in to police, 6ABC reports.
Barnwell was scheduled to be charged with first-degree murder charge according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele said surveillance video showed Barnwell and three other individuals entering the bowling alley at about 6:39 p.m., getting into an altercation with Wade and others, and opening gunfire three minutes after entering. Barnwell fired 15 shots. Wade and four others were hit, with Steele saying all of the victims are related, CBS Philly reported.
Steele said Barnwell also shot Wade after he was already down. Neither the suspect nor the victims, ranging from 18 to 31 years old were residents of the East Norriton area. The victims were all from Philadelphia, about 20 miles away, and Barnwell’s last known resident was Upper Darby, just outside Philadelphia. It’s unclear if Barnwell and Wade have had previous altercations. The four other victims are recovering and were expected to survive officials said.
Recovered cellphones showed photos of teen brandishing gun
Police recovered three cellphones that were left behind, all thee belonging to Barnwell, with photos on the devices showed the teen holding a similar gun to that used in the shooting.
‘The weapon used in the shooting was a 45 caliber with an extended mag,’ Steele said. ‘Photos show him holding a similar weapon.’
‘None of these folks are local to this establishment,’ Steele reiterated during a weekend press conference. ‘What I will say too, I hope that people at some point get the message not to commit murders in Montgomery County because we solve our murders, and we’re going to hold people accountable for their actions and things that they do here.’
Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic. There is a window at the bowling alley boarded up. Officials said a father threw a barstool through the glass in order to get his kids out once the gunfire began.
‘You start hearing, ‘Pop pop pop pop pop.’ You hear them going off and everyone started panicking, running toward the back,’ told one witness, Harry Delmar via 6ABC.
Some 50 to 75 people were at the bowling alley, a popular spot for families in the area, at the time. It remained unclear what led to the two groups engaging in an altercation and resorting to gun violence.
