During Upper Darby pistol-whipping, alleged assailant shoots own brother

While pistol-whipping a foe in an Upper Darby street fight on Friday, a Lansdowne teen inadvertently shot his own brother who was watching the brawl 25 yards away, police said Tuesday.

"It just goes to show you: When a bullet leaves a gun you don't know where it's going to wind up," said Michael Chitwood, Upper Darby police superintendent.

Jamiyl Muhammad, 17, was allegedly part of a group who started fighting with an opposing group around 7 p.m. on Millbank Road near Midway Avenue, in Upper Darby.

According to witnesses, Muhammad was seen pistol-whipping one member of the opposing group in the head with a black handgun, Chitwood said.

As Muhammad was hitting his opponent, the gun went off and a bullet struck his 19-year-old brother, who was standing 25 yards away observing the fight, police said.

Muhammad's brother, who was shot in the right arm, allegedly flagged down a passing pizza delivery driver to take him to the hospital, Chitwood said.

Muhammad allegedly went to Delaware County Memorial Hospital with three other teens to check on his brother, but he ran away when he realized that police were there to investigate, Chitwood said.

Police believe that Muhammad fled to Philadelphia.

When captured, Muhammad will be charged as an adult with two counts each of aggravated and simple assault as well as recklessly endangering another person and several gun crimes, Chitwood said.

His brother was later transferred to Crozer-Chester Medical Center and was released Tuesday. *