WILMINGTON, DE — Delaware State Police say a Wilmington man was arrested after four people were threatened with a handgun Sunday evening at a shopping center in the city. Troopers identified the suspect as 37-year-old Bruce Thorngate IV and said he was taken into custody without incident after being found walking in a nearby community.
According to state police, the confrontation happened around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 at the Chestnut Run Shopping Center on Faulkland Road. Investigators said Thorngate lifted his shirt to show a handgun and threatened to kill the victims. No one was injured, but police later recovered a loaded weapon from his waistband.
Troopers responded to Chestnut Run after reports of a man with a handgun
Police said troopers were dispatched to 1714 Faulkland Road after receiving a report that multiple people had been threatened with a handgun. When officers arrived, they were given a description of the suspect and learned he had already left the shopping center area.
The man was said to have fled toward a nearby neighborhood before troopers located him in the Greenville on 141 community. State police said the person they found matched the description provided by witnesses. He was walking at the time and was detained after troopers found the loaded handgun hidden in his waistband.
Thorngate was then taken to Troop 6, where he was processed on felony charges. State police did not say whether the victims knew him or what set off the confrontation.
Investigators say the threat began near a store in the shopping center
The preliminary investigation indicates Thorngate was standing near a store when he noticed the four victims. Police said he then exposed the handgun by lifting his shirt and threatened to kill them. The circumstances that led to the encounter remain under investigation.
State police said the four people who were threatened were not hurt. The agency did not report any shots fired, and no injuries were listed in the arrest announcement. The incident took place in a busy retail area, adding to the concern for shoppers and nearby residents who may have seen the suspect leave the scene.
Police have not said whether other customers or employees were in the immediate area when the threats were made.
Prior felony conviction made the firearm possession a separate charge
Investigators also said Thorngate had a prior felony conviction and was not allowed to possess or carry a firearm. That detail led to one of the most serious charges in the case, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited due to a prior violent crime.
Police said the loaded handgun was recovered during the search after Thorngate was located. The combination of the firearm, the alleged threats, and the prior conviction resulted in multiple felony counts. State police did not identify the weapon or say how long Thorngate may have had it before the encounter.
The case will now move through the court process, where the allegations must be proven.
Felony counts include four menacing charges and four terroristic threatening charges
Thorngate was charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, and carrying a concealed deadly weapon. He also faces four counts each of aggravated menacing and terroristic threatening.
After being arraigned by the Justice of the Peace Court, he was committed to the Department of Correction on a $64,000 cash bond. State police included the standard presumption of innocence in the release, noting that anyone charged is considered innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The arrest shows how quickly an apparently isolated confrontation in a shopping center can turn into a multi-count felony case once a firearm and prior prohibited status are involved.
State police say the investigation remains open as the case heads to court
Delaware State Police have not released additional information about why the encounter started or whether more evidence was recovered at the scene. For now, the agency says the case is centered on the threats, the loaded handgun, and Thorngate’s alleged status as a prohibited person.
The shopping center, the nearby Greenville on 141 community, and the Troop 6 processing step form the main timeline so far. Authorities have not described any broader public threat after the arrest, and no injuries were reported. Court records and future proceedings are expected to determine how the charges are handled from here.
For shoppers and workers in the area, the case is another reminder of how quickly a routine evening can be disrupted by an armed threat.
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