A 37-year-old Wilmington man is facing a stack of felony charges after police say he threatened four people with a handgun at a busy Faulkland Road shopping center on Sunday evening, then fled toward a nearby apartment complex. Bruce Thorngate IV was found walking through the Greenville on 141 community, a loaded handgun still tucked in his waistband, according to police.
Delaware State Police say troopers were called around 5:30 p.m. Sunday to Chestnut Run Shopping Center on a report of a man threatening multiple people with a handgun. According to NBC10 Philadelphia, Thorngate allegedly stood near a store at the plaza, lifted his shirt to reveal a handgun, and threatened to kill four victims before fleeing the scene on foot toward a nearby neighborhood.
The shopping center sits at 1714 Faulkland Road. No victims were injured during the encounter, police say. Troopers eventually located Thorngate walking inside Greenville on 141, a 27-acre wooded apartment and townhome community off Route 141 that sits adjacent to the plaza, and took him into custody there.
Charges Reflect Prior Felony Record
Police say Thorngate has a prior felony conviction that legally bars him from possessing or carrying a firearm. That prohibition is central to the case: he now faces Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited due to a prior violent crime, Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, four felony counts of Aggravated Menacing and four counts of Terroristic Threatening, according to the Delaware State Police.
The lead charge carries real weight under state law. Delaware Code Title 11, Section 1447A makes Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony a Class B felony with a mandatory minimum of three years in prison at Level V, a term that climbs to five years for defendants with two or more prior felony convictions, per FindLaw. Those Level V sentences cannot be suspended by a judge.
The four Aggravated Menacing counts, one for each person Thorngate is accused of threatening, stem from a separate Class E felony statute. Delaware Code Title 11, Section 602(b) defines the offense as intentionally placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury by displaying a deadly weapon, according to the Delaware General Assembly. Separately, Delaware law addresses firearm possession by people prohibited from possessing firearms, according to the Justia Law.
Bond Set at $64,000, Motive Still Unclear
Thorngate was committed to the Department of Correction after being held on a $64,000 cash bond, police say. Under Delaware procedure, initial arraignments and bail determinations happen within 24 hours of arrest through the Justice of the Peace Court, where magistrates rely on risk assessment tools to set release conditions or cash bonds, according to the Dover Police Department. The case involved a cash bond.
What sparked the confrontation at Chestnut Run remains unknown. Police have not detailed a motive for why Thorngate allegedly threatened the four victims, and that question, along with any scheduled court dates following his commitment, remains open for now.
Case Adds to Recent Wilmington-Area Gun Arrests
The arrest was handled by Delaware State Police Troop 6.
The incident lands amid local attention to gun violence, including Hoodline's own recent report on a Southbridge shooting. The case is being handled under Delaware law.
Thorngate's arrest involves alleged prohibited possession of a firearm. For now, Thorngate remains committed to the Department of Correction as the case moves through Delaware's court system.
