Delaware County man charged with fatal shooting of 69-year-old using an ATM in Germantown

A Chichester Township, Delaware County, man was arrested Friday in connection with the slaying of a 69-year-old man shot after making an ATM withdrawal in Germantown.

Philadelphia police said they have charged Corey X. Thompson, 23, of the 1500 block of Rolling Glen Drive, with murder, firearms, and other offenses in the fatal shooting of James Watson.

On Thursday night, Watson stopped at the Citizens Bank branch on Germantown Avenue near the corner of Chelten Avenue to make a withdrawal of $400. The money was for his granddaughter, who couldn’t run the errand because of a broken foot, according to a relative.

Police received the call around 8 p.m. and found Watson still inside the ATM vestibule with a gunshot wound to his abdomen and a graze wound to his chest. Police said that Watson, of the 5600 block of Boyer Street, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said that Watson had briefly quarreled with two men wearing hoodies, skullcaps, and face masks when one of the men shot him. The men fled without taking the $400 in cash that Watson had just withdrawn, but robbery is believed to have been the motive, police said.

Philadelphia Homicide Capt. James Smith said that two $20 bills and a handful of quarters were found under Watson’s body, while his wallet contained two $100 bills and eight $20 bills.

“It looks like they went to rob him and they exchanged words,” Smith said. “They tried to rob an old head and the old head said, ‘You’re not robbing me,’ and they shot him.”

Video from a surveillance camera showed the men running from the scene, police said.

Tymir Alston-Haywood, 15, said his great-grandfather’s last act of withdrawing money for his injured granddaughter, who is Alston-Haywood’s mother, was in keeping with his character.

“Everybody liked him,” Alston-Haywood said.

“I’m confused. I just want to know why. Did they want to rob him or anybody?”