Police say a man wanted on a murder warrant shot a 35-year-old regular customer after a dispute moved from inside a market to the street outside.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — A deadly shooting outside a Northeast Philadelphia convenience store has left one man dead, a store owner shaken and police searching for a suspect they say is armed and dangerous after an argument erupted inside the business and spilled outside.
Philadelphia police said Friday that Michael White, 23, is wanted on an active arrest warrant in the killing of Vaswani Brown, 35. The case centers on Fresh Mini Market at Summerdale and Magee avenues, where investigators said the two men were captured on surveillance video arguing before Brown was shot while getting into his SUV. The shooting turned a familiar neighborhood stop into an active homicide scene and added urgency to the search for a suspect still at large.
According to police, the shooting happened shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators said Brown and White were involved in an argument inside the market, then continued the confrontation outside. Brown was getting into his SUV when the gunman opened fire, police said. He was rushed to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where he later died. The first public account of the case described officers searching for an unknown gunman. By Friday, police had identified White by name and said he was the subject of an active warrant. That shift gave the investigation a sharper public focus, moving from a broad search for leads to a direct effort to find a specific suspect.
Jose Espinal, the owner of Fresh Mini Market, gave the case a deeply local frame. He told Action News he was returning from the gym when he encountered the two men arguing. Espinal said he knew both as regular customers and tried to calm the situation before walking into the store. He said he told them that life was good, an appeal that did not stop the fight from escalating outside. Espinal also said Brown was a father who lived in the neighborhood. Those details did not answer the central investigative question of what started the dispute, but they showed how quickly ordinary contact in a community business turned into a fatal shooting involving people the owner recognized.
Police disclosed another significant detail when they said a gun belonging to Brown was recovered at the scene. Authorities have not publicly said whether Brown handled the weapon during the confrontation or whether detectives believe it played a role in the final exchange. They also have not said whether surveillance video captured the shooting itself or only the argument inside the market. No motive was released Friday, and police did not describe any prior conflict between the men. Those gaps matter because they will shape how prosecutors and investigators explain the encounter if White is arrested and formally brought before a court.
The case also reflects how violence can unsettle businesses that serve as daily gathering places in city neighborhoods. Corner markets are often routine stops for snacks, groceries, cigarettes and conversation, with regular customers appearing at predictable times. When a killing happens there, it changes the meaning of the place for workers and nearby residents. In this case, the owner’s account suggested that the store was not a random location but a place where both men were known. That context does not lessen the uncertainty around the shooting, but it helps explain why the homicide landed with unusual force in the immediate area around Summerdale and Magee.
Police said White stands about 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds, and they warned the public that he should be considered armed and dangerous. As of Friday, there was no announcement of an arrest, no public court appearance and no detailed description of next formal proceedings. The immediate legal step is the execution of the active arrest warrant. After that, investigators would be expected to present the case for charging, and prosecutors would outline counts tied to Brown’s death. Until then, detectives are likely to keep reviewing surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses and testing physical evidence recovered from the scene.
For now, the public picture of the shooting is built from a handful of hard facts and one short eyewitness account from the store owner. Brown was shot outside a market he visited often. White was identified by police and remains wanted. Espinal’s effort to calm the men lasted only a moment before the violence moved beyond his control. In a story shaped by surveillance, warrants and unanswered questions, that failed attempt to stop the argument stands out as the last known effort to keep the encounter from turning deadly.
The investigation remained open Friday, with police seeking White and asking for information as detectives continue to fill in the missing pieces. The next major turn is expected when the suspect is arrested or homicide investigators release a fuller account of the shooting.
Author note: Last updated March 6, 2026.