Baltimore man sentenced to life plus 45 years in deadly Westside Shopping Center shooting

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A Baltimore man has been sentenced to life in prison plus 45 years for a 2024 shooting at the Westside Shopping Center that left one man dead and another wounded, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Bishop Chance was sentenced in connection with the fatal shooting of Theodore Burrell and the non-fatal shooting of another man near the shopping center on Frederick Avenue.

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Assistant State’s Attorneys Erin Godwin and Megan Gallo prosecuted the case.

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,” said State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, via press release. “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. I want to thank my Homicide team and the Baltimore Police for working this complex case to achieve justice. I hope today’s sentence provides some measure of closure to the victims and their families as they continue to heal.

The shooting happened around 5:43 p.m. on July 16, 2024, when Baltimore Police officers were called to the Westside Shopping Center in the 2400 block of Frederick Avenue after a ShotSpotter alert detected six rounds and authorities received a report of a shooting.

Officers arriving at the scene found Burrell lying outside a Wells Fargo Bank with multiple gunshot wounds to his left leg and torso, according to prosecutors. He was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he later died.

Investigators located another crime scene in front of 2415 Frederick Avenue, where they recovered a .22-caliber firearm, several 9mm and .40-caliber cartridge cases, bullet fragments and what appeared to be a large trail of blood.

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As detectives investigated, they learned that two other shooting victims had arrived separately at area hospitals. Chance went to Harbor Hospital with a gunshot wound, while another man arrived at Grace Medical Center.

Both had injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Chance initially told investigators that he had been shot at a Royal Farms but could not specify where, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. He also said he did not know the person who took him to the hospital and denied seeing the vehicle in which he arrived.

Detectives later determined that account was improbable after reviewing reports of gunfire and shootings across Baltimore that day.

Prosecutors said there had been only two reported shooting-related incidents in the city on July 16: the Westside Shopping Center shooting and an unrelated shooting in the Eastern District several hours later.

Investigators used surveillance video and license plate reader data to reconstruct events surrounding the Westside shooting.

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A 2013 Hyundai Elantra, which had been reported stolen the previous day, was detected entering the shopping center at approximately 5:38 p.m., according to prosecutors.

Surveillance footage showed the vehicle circling the parking lot before stopping near 2415 Frederick Avenue about two minutes later.

Video of the shooting showed two people getting out of the Hyundai through a rear driver’s-side door before opening fire and chasing the victims on foot, prosecutors said.

Shortly after the shooting, the Hyundai was involved in a crash at Washington Boulevard and West Patapsco Avenue.

Police later processed the vehicle and recovered suspected blood from its back seat. DNA testing determined that the blood belonged to Chance, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.

Chance’s co-defendant, Gregory Whitfield, is scheduled to stand trial Oct. 1, 2026.