In Quiet Philly Suburb, Dispute Between Neighbors Turns Deadly

WEST GOSHEN, PA — One person is dead after a "long running" dispute between two neighbors in Chester County ended in a fatal shooting early Tuesday, according to authorities.

Clayton P. Carter III, 51, has been charged with first-degree murder by West Goshen Township Police in connection with the shooting, which happened mere hours after police had responded to an earlier dispute between the alleged killer and his victim, George Brooks Jennings.

The Chester County District Attorney said the violent incident was a result of repeated, ongoing disagreements between Carter and his next-door neighbor on Box Elder Drive, a quiet tree-lined street less than a half mile from the local high school.

The fatal shots were fired around 1 a.m. Tuesday. Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan said Carter shot Jennings, 51, once in the head, knocking him to the ground.

Jennings' wife heard the first shot and looked out her window. She saw her husband lying motionless on the ground; Carter fired a second shot, also in the head, the District Attorney said.

Jennings, who has a young son, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident happened along the 300 block of the tree-lined suburban street, in a peaceful neighborhood less than a half a mile from East High School.

Police say the two were involved in a long-running dispute that also involved other neighbors. Carter had even pulled a gun on Jennings during past arguments, the District Attorney said.

It got so heated between the two that five hours before the shooting, police were called to the neighborhood to intervene in a dispute. However, police believed the disagreement was resolved.

It wasn't.

Carter told police Jennings was pointing a light in his face while he was outside early Tuesday morning. As a result, he told police he got into his car and shined his high beams on Jennings, who was in his own yard directly next door.

Hogan said the investigation revealed that Carter went inside and got a semi-automatic handgun from his residence and confronted Jennings with the weapon.

Carter was arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. He was denied bail and is confined in Chester County Prison. His preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 24, court records show.

Meanwhile, the community is "in shock and mourning," said Hogan. "The West Goshen Township Police Department and Chester County Detectives did an excellent job responding quickly and effectively to this homicide. This killing leaves a wife without a husband, a little boy without his father, and a community in shock and mourning."