James Chandler, a 36-year-old Black male from Philadelphia, was killed in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 20, 2014. The shooting happened on the 3200 block of Defense Terrace, in the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Abbottsford Homes development in the city’s East Falls area. Police were called to the scene at about 1:02 a.m., after gunfire was reported in the neighborhood.
When officers arrived, they found Chandler lying outside in the street or on the sidewalk, suffering
from multiple gunshot wounds. Philadelphia Fire Department medics responded, but Chandler could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the scene. A local report said he had been shot twice in the head with a semi-automatic handgun, and investigators found two spent shell casings near his body. Because of the close placement of the casings and the nature of the wounds, investigators believed the shooting may have happened at very close range.
The killing appears to have unfolded quickly and quietly despite the sound of gunfire carrying through the neighborhood. Police said some residents heard the shots, but no one reported seeing the actual shooting. Officers from both the Philadelphia Police Department and Philadelphia Housing Authority police searched the area for clues, but early information was limited. At the time, investigators said they had no known motive and no description of the shooter or shooters.
Chandler had lived on the 3200 block of McMichael Street in Philadelphia, only a short distance from where he was found. The available police case information does not describe what brought him to Defense Terrace that night, whether he was targeted, or whether there had been any confrontation before the gunfire. What remains publicly known is that he was found alone after the shots were heard, mortally wounded before anyone could identify who had attacked him.
No arrests, charges, trial, or conviction were found in the available online sources. The Philadelphia Police Department lists Chandler’s homicide as an unsolved murder under case number DC# 14-39-018513 and continues to ask for public assistance. Detectives have urged anyone with information about the killing to contact Philadelphia Police, indicating that the case remains open and that the identity of the person or people responsible has not been publicly established.
