Man ordered to trial in shooting of homeless shelter worker

A man who police say killed a homeless shelter worker and wounded another after he was kicked out of the facility was ordered to stand trial on murder and related charges in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Tuesday morning.

John Brock, 32, is facing murder charges in the killing of shelter worker Edward Barksdale, who was shot to death Jan. 17 when prosecutors say a disgruntled Brock walked into the shelter at 2601 N. Broad Street and opened fire.

Brock's lawyer, Debra Rainey, who is representing him pro bono, said her client suffers from mental health issues. But a judge ordered earlier this year that Brock was fit to stand trial.

Brock also faces charges in the attempted murder and felony aggravated assault of Lamond Barham, another shelter worker who was wounded in the shooting.

Barham, 26, testified at Brock's preliminary hearing on Tuesday. He said Brock had been living at the shelter for about a month.

On the night of Jan. 15, Barham said, he arrived at the shelter to work a night shift and found that workers on the previous shift had called the police to remove Brock, who was drunk and refusing to sit in the shelter's dining room to sober up, as shelter policy required.

Brock was escorted out by police and taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. Police said he signed himself out, but returned to the shelter around 3 a.m. on Jan. 17. He was agitated, cursing and asking shelter workers for his belongings, which had been locked in storage, Barham said. Brock told the workers it was cold and he needed a jacket.

Barham said shelter policy dictates that residents who are forcibly removed from the premises may only come back after the shelter's director and a case manager have approved their return. Barksdale, Barham recalled, told Brock to come back the next week to speak to the director.

Three hours later, Barham said, Brock returned to the shelter. He walked through the front door without a word, pulled a handgun from his sweatshirt pocket, and opened fire, Barham said.

Barham saw the flash from the muzzle, saw Barksdale flop backward, and ran for cover. He did not realize he had been shot himself - a bullet had hit him in the left buttock and lodged in his abdomen - until he made it to safety in one of the residents' rooms.

He did not know what had happened to Barksdale, he said. "I thought he had gotten hit in the stomach - I thought he had gotten away," Barham said.

Barksdale had been shot five times, in the head, left shoulder, abdomen, right thigh, and in a finger. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Rainey said Brock was "praying for the family of Mr. Barksdale" and "is not the monster people are trying to make him out to be." She said Brock's mental problems were well known at the shelter.

"He's a man with some mental health challenges who often self medicates with alcohol, as many people do," she said.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Levenberg called the case "tragic."

"This is a case of a guy who really helped these guys live," he said, "and the defendant cut his life short."