A 24-year-old man led Wilmington police on a foot chase through North Adams Street before officers caught up with him and charged him in connection with a shooting three weeks earlier that left a 39-year-old man fighting for his life. Brian McElwee is now sitting in a Delaware prison on $97,500 cash-only bail, facing a stack of felony charges tied to the Sept. 1 gunfire on West Seventh Street.
According to MyChesCo, Wilmington police responded to a reported shooting at approximately 9:18 p.m. on Sept. 1 in the 800 block of West Seventh Street. Officers arriving on scene found a 39-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound, and he was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, the outlet reported.
Detective Traces Case Back to a Street Encounter
The case landed with Detective Johnnie Everett of the Criminal Investigations Division, who identified McElwee as the suspect in the shooting, per the same report. Three weeks later, on Sept. 22, officers spotted McElwee in the 800 block of North Adams Street. When they tried to make contact, he took off running, but police caught up with him and took him into custody without further incident, the station's report states.
McElwee now faces felony assault and firearm charges stemming from the encounter, including first-degree assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited, and possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited, according to the same account. Under Delaware law, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony is classified as a class B felony, according to a bill document from the Delaware General Assembly.
Outstanding Warrant, Arraignment, and Bail
Investigators also found that McElwee had an outstanding warrant out of Pennsylvania, per the report. He was arraigned in New Castle County Court of Common Pleas and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, where he remains held on $97,500 cash-only bail, the outlet noted.
West Seventh Street has seen violence before. In May 2025, 56-year-old James Saxe was shot in Wilmington's West Center City neighborhood and later died at the hospital, according to Crime Solvers Central. That shooting also occurred in the 800 block of West Seventh Street, where officers responding around 11 p.m. found Saxe with gunshot wounds and rushed him to a hospital in critical condition; a second victim, a 19-year-old man, was also struck by gunfire and arrived in stable condition, per the same source.
As with any pending criminal case, McElwee is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, MyChesCo's report noted. No further details on the investigation, including whether a weapon was recovered from the September shooting, have been released.
