Attorneys debate whether fatal East Norriton bowling alley shooting was self-defense or murder

The underlying question in the murder case against an Upper Darby teen accused of firing a gun during a fight in a crowded bowling alley last month is whether he had the intent to kill, or if he acted in self-defense when confronted by a group of older men, as his lawyer suggested Monday.

District Judge Mark Alfarano wasn’t swayed, and sent the first-degree murder case against Jamel Barnwell on to Montgomery County Court during a preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors contended that the 17-year-old was prepared to use the illegal gun he took to the Our Town Bowling Alley in East Norriton on Feb. 21. And when Barnwell saw one of the shooting victims fall to the ground, wounded, he continued to pull the trigger until the handgun’s magazine was empty and his target was dead, Deputy District Attorney Samantha Cauffman said.

“He was getting himself prepared, freeing his hands to whip out his gun if he needed to,” Cauffman said, referring to Barnwell’s actions just moments before the shooting, when he handed his cellphone to a friend. “He had to pull the trigger 15 times, and he didn’t hit anyone in his group. He was targeting the others.”

Barnwell’s attorney, Carrie Allman, disputed that characterization, saying Barnwell was outnumbered and was thinking only of protecting himself.

“What we saw was an altercation between two groups of people,” Allman said. “That is not first-degree murder.”

Surveillance footage recorded inside the bowling alley and played in the courtroom showed one of Barnwell’s friends bumping into another man, whom police did not identify. The two got into an argument, before a woman pulled the man away and Barnwell’s group continued walking.

About two minutes later, a larger group of men, including Frank Wade, 29, approached Barnwell’s group, the video showed. The two groups began fighting almost immediately, and during the melee, Barnwell pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and fired, causing the rest of the group to run and other patrons in the bowling alley to duck for cover.

Barnwell saw Wade crawling on the floor and continued to shoot him until he ran out of bullets, killing him, the video shows. Barnwell then fled with his friends. Detectives identified him as the shooter through photos on his cellphone, which was left behind.

The next day, he surrendered to police with his parents, according to detectives. Three other members of the group that confronted Barnwell were shot but have since recovered.