17-year-old suspect in custody in fatal bowling alley shooting in Montgomery County

A Delaware County teenager is in custody facing murder charges in a fatal Saturday night shooting at a bowling alley in East Norriton, Montgomery County.

Police say 17-year-old Jamel Barnwell entered a busy bowling alley, shot and killed one man, and wounded four others as patrons ducked for cover.

Based on surveillance video, officials said Barnwell appeared to target the victim, Frank Wade, 29, of West Philadelphia, just minutes after entering Our Town Alley bowling lanes on the 2900 block of Swede Road at 6:39 p.m.

Barnwell arrived with two other men and handed his cell phone to one of the men who accompanied him before his group got into an altercation with Wade and his party, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said at a news conference Sunday.

“The defendant pulls out a gun and starts shooting,” Steele said. “He fires 15 times. He also shoots Mr. Wade while he is on the ground.” Police recovered five projectiles — one in the ceiling and four in the floor.

Four relatives of Wade’s, who Steele said were brothers, cousins and nephews, were injured. At the time, 50 to 75 patrons were in the bowling alley, formerly known as Facenda Whitaker Lanes, Steele said.

The criminal complaint against Barnwell quoted Wade’s wife, Tahida Brooks, who said the family was wrapping up their bowling when she heard a commotion near the front of the bowling alley. She said her husband and family members went to investigate, and then she heard shooting.

She told police the gunman “fired his gun until it was empty” before he exited through the main doors, according to the complaint. She said she did not know the shooter, nor did she know what led to the shooting.

According to video surveillance, Wade fell to the ground after he was first shot. “As the victim attempted to crawl away to safety, [the gunman] could be seen shooting him several more times, until Wade eventually stops crawling and collapses,” according to the complaint.

Barnwell, who police say lives in East Lansdowne, is set to be arraigned Monday morning on charges of first- and third-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and reckless endangerment.

No lawyer for the teen was named on court documents early Monday.

Police said they recovered extensive surveillance video from the bowling alley, as well as three cell phones that had been dropped during the turmoil, including Barnwell’s, which included photos of him posing with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun with an extended magazine that they believe he used in the shooting.

Steele said Sunday that the history between the shooter and the victim was unclear.

“We can’t at this point tell you whether or not there was a previous relationship between these two groups, but we can tell you that this defendant should not have had a gun,” he said.

The district attorney identified the four injured men as Yahnirr Brooks, 21, shot in the leg; Shamir Jones, 31, shot in the leg; Robert Oliver, 26, shot in the back; and Ahmir Simmons, 19, shot in the abdomen.

On its Facebook page, the East Norriton Police Department urged the public to moderate posts that included personal attacks. “This is a tragic event outside of the norm for our community,” it said. “It is shocking and appalling to us all.”

Staff writer Erin McCarthy contributed to this article.