Man sentenced to life for deadly 2024 West Baltimore shopping center shooting
A man was sentenced to life in prison for a shooting that killed one person and injured another at a shopping center in West Baltimore in 2024.
Bishop Chance fatally shot Theodore Burrell on July 16, 2024, at the Westside Shopping Center on Frederick Avenue, according to police.
"Today's sentence ensures this Defendant will never be able to recklessly threaten the lives of innocent families and children by discharging a firearm near a busy shopping center," Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates said. "Violence like this has no place in our communities, and those who choose to use a firearm against another person must understand that there will be serious and lasting consequences."
Baltimore police responded to the Westside Shopping Center for reports of a shooting. Officers found Burrell lying in front of the Wells Fargo Bank with multiple gunshot wounds to his left leg and torso. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
During the investigation, police were alerted to two shooting victims who had walked into area hospitals, including Chance.
Chance told police he had been shot at a Royal Farms and flagged someone down to take him to the hospital.
According to police, Chance denied seeing the vehicle used to drop him off and said he did not know the person who took him to the hospital.
Investigators determined Chance's account was unlikely because there were only two shooting-related calls in the entire city on July 16, 2024, according to police.
Police said video footage and license plate reader data helped investigators identify the suspected vehicle used in the shooting as a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The vehicle had been reported stolen on July 15, 2024, and generated a license plate reader hit at the entrance to the Westside Shopping Center at 5:38 p.m.
After the Elantra entered the shopping center, detectives tracked it as it circled the parking lot, where it was captured on video stopping.
Police said video showed two suspects exiting the vehicle through the rear driver's-side door around 5:40 p.m. The suspects then allegedly opened fire and chased the victims on foot.
Shortly after the shooting, the Elantra was involved in a crash at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and W. Patapsco Avenue. Police said the vehicle was towed and processed as part of the investigation.
Investigators swabbed suspected blood from the back seat of the vehicle. Testing determined the blood belonged to Chance, according to police.
The other suspect, Gregory Whitfield, is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 1, 2026.
