17-Year-Old Jamel Barnwell Turns Himself In After Shooting At Our Town Alley That Killed Philadelphia Man, Injured 4 Others
EAST NORRITON, Pa. (CBS) -- The 17-year-old wanted for murder in a shooting at an East Norriton bowling alley that left a Philadelphia man dead and four others injured has turned himself in, according to police. Officials say Jamel Barnwell, of Upper Darby, turned himself in around 11 p.m. on Sunday night.
Police were not aware he was going to turn himself in and Barnwell was with family members when he showed up. The two people Barnwell was with did not turn themselves in to police, but Barnwell was the sole shooter and there was only one gun involved.
Barnwell is facing a first-degree murder charge in the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Frank Wade, of Philadelphia. Four others were also wounded in the shooting.
"He can't have a gun and he did. You've seen it in the pictures," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said during a video news conference Sunday. "We saw it in the surveillance video last night. This is an ongoing problem. This is the mechanism of death. Far too many weapons out there right now."
Authorities said surveillance video shows Barnwell and three other people entering the bowling alley at 6:39 p.m. on Saturday and two minutes later, the suspect is seen handing his cellphone to one of the other men with who he entered the establishment.
According to the DA, a physical altercation began between Barnwell, Wade and others at 6:42 p.m. That's when, authorities said, Barnwell pulled a gun and fired 15 shots, striking Wade and five other people. All of the victims are related, according to Steele.
Barnwell also shot Wade while he was already on the ground, Steele said.
An autopsy revealed that Wade died from gunshot wounds. His death has been ruled a homicide.
The four other gunshot victims — ages between 18 and 31 — are recovering from their injuries, authorities said.
It's unclear at this point of the investigation if Barnwell and Wade have had previous altercations.
Barnwell's cellphone was left at the scene. Inside the phone, there were photos of him.
"The weapon used in this homicide was 45 caliber with an extended mag," Steele said.
Our Town Alley is a popular spot for families close to the East Norriton area. Officials said there were between 50 to 75 people inside the bowling alley at the time of the shooting.
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.
Annie Croak was inside the bowling alley at the time of the incident.
"By the fourth or fifth shot that's when people realized something's wrong and it was very chaotic after that," Croak said. "We all just kind of ran for cover."
Authorities said Barnwell and the victims were not residents of the area. The victims are from Philadelphia and the last known residence of Barnwell is in Upper Darby, Steele said.
"None of these folks are local to this establishment," Steele said. "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."
East Norriton Police Chief Brandon Pasquale tells Eyewitness News they're seeing more criminal activity in town being committed by out-of-towners. He says it's because Philly is still locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The bowling alley management reached out to police recently about the "change in clientele" and just last week police had a meeting about the uptick in crime.
They reportedly ran through a scenario about what would happen if there was a shooting at the bowling alley. Our Town Alley has been on the department's radar because it is one of the few establishments in East Norriton that are open overnight.
This is the first homicide in East Norriton in about five to 10 years.
Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact police at 911, or 610-278-3648.
CBS3's Howard Monroe contributed to this report.
