Fight Leads To Fatal Shooting In Bensalem

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —A township man is in custody following a fight that led to a fatal shooting outside an apartment complex on Saturday evening, police said.

Abel Mendoza-Ramirez, 31, of Bensalem, was taken into custody without incident. Abel Mendoza-Ramirez was charged with Criminal Homicide, Murder in the First Degree, Murder in the Third Degree, and possession of an Instrument of Crime.

He was arraigned by District Justice Joseph Falcone and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility without bail.

Around 5:48 p.m. Saturday, Bensalem Police responded to a 911 call for a shooting in the area of building 7 in Bucks Meadows Apartments at 3131 Knights Rd.

Police found Jose Miguel Tenorio-Ruiz, 40, lying near the rear parking lot with an apparent gunshot wound to the torso.

Officers immediately began life-saving measures until EMS arrived. He Ruiz was transported to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital by Bensalem EMS and was pronounced dead a short time later.

The person who shot the victim had fled the scene before police arrival.

Bensalem Police questioned numerous witnesses at the scene and determined that the suspect's name was Mendoza-Ramirez, who lives in the Bucks Meadows Apartment Complex.

Police learned the suspect and the victim had a minor physical altercation just before the shooting.

Following the altercation, it was reported that Mendoza-Ramirez went to his vehicle, returned with a semi-automatic handgun in his waistband, and approached the victim.

The two exchanged words again, police said.

Mendoza-Ramirez pulled the gun from his waistband and fired two rounds into the ground near the victim.

When the victim attempted to take the gun from him, Mendoza-Ramirez fired the gun, striking Tenorio-Ruiz in the torso.

The shooter entered his Ford Van and fled from the scene.

The description of the suspect and his vehicle was then broadcast to surrounding police departments, and the vehicle registration was entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as a felony vehicle with the driver possibly armed and dangerous.

Around 6:40 p.m., a Newton Township Police Officer spotted the Ford Van with the matching registration and conducted a traffic stop at 600 Newtown Yardley Road in front of the Newton Cemetery.

Mendoza-Ramirez was taken into custody without incident.