Police sources said two armed teenagers never drew their guns before a licensed carrier opened fire inside the grocery store.
PHILADELPHIA — Surveillance video from a West Philadelphia grocery store became a key part of the investigation into a fatal shooting after police sources said two armed teenagers did not draw their weapons before a licensed gun carrier shot them.
The shooting on May 21, 2025, killed 15-year-old Seth Marshall and critically wounded a 16-year-old boy. Police later arrested Jaquan Higgs, then 22, and charged him with murder, attempted murder and related offenses, even as law enforcement sources described his initial account as one of self-defense.
The case centers on the difference between the presence of firearms and what investigators said the store’s cameras showed immediately before the shots were fired. Police sources said both teenagers were armed, but they also said neither teenager was seen pulling a gun before Higgs opened fire. The surveillance account reported publicly does not by itself establish whether the shooting was legally justified.
Officers were sent to a grocery store on the 5400 block of Race Street shortly after 2:15 p.m. after gunfire was reported inside. Marshall was pronounced dead at the scene. The second teenager was taken to Lankenau Medical Center in critical condition.
Police sources said the surveillance footage showed Marshall near the front door with a gun visible in his waistband. According to their description, he raised his phone and began typing rather than reaching for the firearm. The surviving 16-year-old was described as standing at the counter and paying for food when he was shot.
Earlier in the investigation, police sources said Higgs believed the teenagers were about to rob the store and characterized the shooting as self-defense. Higgs remained at the scene, according to those sources. Investigators nevertheless arrested him and filed homicide and attempted homicide charges days after the shooting.
The reports reviewed do not provide a full account of what Higgs said he saw, heard or believed before opening fire. They also do not disclose a detailed prosecutorial explanation for why the evidence resulted in murder and attempted murder charges despite the reported self-defense claim. Those questions are important because a criminal charge represents an accusation, not a finding of guilt.
Investigators recovered three firearms associated with the incident, according to the initial reporting. Police sources said one belonged to Higgs and another to the surviving teenager. A third gun, described as belonging to Marshall, was recovered from beneath a vehicle across the street after witnesses reportedly moved it from the store.
Police sources also said Higgs had a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm and no prior criminal record. A permit authorizes the carrying of a firearm under applicable law but does not, by itself, decide whether any particular use of that firearm is legally justified. That question depends on the facts and evidence surrounding the shooting.
The shooting occurred while other customers and workers were inside the neighborhood business, according to the initial report. Store owner Marilin Rodriguez described the killing as a painful event for the community, while investigators continued reviewing video and physical evidence to reconstruct the shooting.
No later disposition of the criminal case could be confirmed in the sources reviewed, and the surviving teenager’s subsequent medical condition was not reported in the material examined. Higgs remains entitled to the presumption of innocence unless the charges are resolved by a guilty plea or conviction.
Author note: Last updated August 24, 2026.