Crime & Safety
Gunman Pleads Guilty In Bristol Basketball Court Shooting
Security footage showed the Philadelphia man, along with an unidentified person, shooting at a man in the parking lot of a local park.
BRISTOL TOWNSHIP, PA — A Philadelphia man pleaded guilty to attempted murder on Wednesday following a 2019 shooting on a Bristol Township basketball court.
Taariq Alfons Norris, 26, was arrested in October of 2019 after a months-long search following the March shooting. The Bucks County District Attorney's office said security cameras captured Norris and another man getting out of a car around 7 p.m. about two blocks from the scene.
They then split up and walked toward the victim in a parking lot from opposite directions with guns drawn. They began shooting — authorities said Norris seemed to aim for the victim's head.
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The victim then drew his own gun and shot Norris. Both the victim and the unidentified shooter are shown running away on surveillance video, while Norris was put into a car by bystanders, driven to a hospital, and treated for his wounds.
The victim underwent surgery, having been shot in the abdomen and buttocks, and was hospitalized for several weeks.
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After Norris' arrest, a jury trial before Common Pleas Judge C. Theodore Fritsch began on Friday. There had been two days of testimony before Wednesday’s guilty plea, in which DNA evidence gathered from the scene and submitted for forensic examination also tied Norris to the shooting.
Norris pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, persons not to possess a firearm, possession of a firearm without a license, and possession of an instrument of crime. As part of the plea, the charge of person not to possess a firearm was amended to a first degree felony.
This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Thomas C. Gannon.
The second shooter has still not been identified, and anyone with information about him is asked to contact Bristol Township police at 215-785-4040 or the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office at 215-348-6354.
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