PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A man has been arrested and charged in connection with a deadly shooting inside a 7-Eleven in Tacony Thursday morning. Police said 43-year-old Joseph McGinnis is facing murder charges in the killing of 55-year-old Tyrone Brown, who was shot inside the store.
It happened just after 7 a.m. in the convenience store, located at Torresdale Avenue and Disston Street. The victim, later identified as Brown, was a regular slot machine player in the store, according to neighbors, and was inside when he got into an argument with a man.
Chris Mullins lives near the 7-Eleven and said he knew the victim. He spoke with the victim’s girlfriend, who said the shooter touched her inappropriately, and her boyfriend tried to defend her. During the fight, the suspect shot the man in the head, killing him.
“A guy opened the door coming out and he started yelling and screaming. Turn around and went back in and they started fighting,” he said. “One thing led to another, he shot him toward the back of the store.”
Mullins said he saw the shooter get in his car and leave the scene. “As he walked out of the store, he was putting the gun in his waistband, but he walked out like nothing happened.”
About 30 minutes later, police responded to a 911 call saying the suspect was barricaded inside his house a few blocks away on the 7000 block of Tulip Street.
The SWAT team responded, and the man was taken into custody without incident around 9:45 a.m.
“I was really nervous at first because I didn’t know how to react to it,” Mullins added. “You never know an argument could turn into that.”
It’s not clear if the shooter and the victim knew each other before the violent incident happened.
Police are actively investigating.