YORK, Pa. (AP) - Police are seeking what they call an “extremely dangerous” 20-year-old man in the shooting that killed a man and wounded a female bystander in a Pennsylvania movie theater.
The West Manchester Township police chief told reporters Friday that Anu-Malik Lee Johnson, who turns 21 next week, ”was the shooter” who fired multiple rounds Monday night at Regal Cinemas 13.
“He is an extremely dangerous human being,” Chief John Snyder said. “He is probably armed (and) he is at large. Snyder added that Johnson has no fixed address, although he was known to spend time in Harrisburg and the city of York, and he “could be anywhere at this time.”
Johnson is charged in York County with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and illegal possession of a firearm in the death of 22-year-old Andre White Jr., who was found motionless on the floor of a theater with multiple gunshot wounds. Nineteen-year-old Jalen Luis Bellaflores was earlier charged with homicide and conspiracy.
Witnesses said White had a verbal exchange with Bellaflores and a second man as he headed to his seat. Police allege in a criminal complaint that the two suspects then moved to different seats, and one later headed toward the exit while the other approached the seated victim and shot him.
A female bystander was shot in the face as the gunman continued to fire as he fled, but Snyder said Friday her injuries weren’t life-threatening.
Snyder said Johnson and White knew each other, and while investigators hadn’t determined a “clear motive” it was clear that “there was some animosity” between them.
District Attorney Dave Sunday said it’s critical that anyone with information about Johnson or his whereabouts call authorities immediately, and he thanked people who have already contacted police.
The York Dispatch reports that Johnson was the intended target of a June 2017 shooting in which a stray bullet hit a mother of four carrying groceries a few feet from her door. A 16-year-old youth was convicted of third-degree murder and is serving a 15- to 30-year sentence. The paper reports that Johnson pleaded guilty in October 2018 to a felony drug charge and was sentenced to nine to 23 months.
Court documents don’t list an attorney for Johnson and a listed number for him couldn’t be found Saturday.
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