LOCKPORT — A Lockport man told a Niagara County Court jury that he pulled the trigger on a gun he was carrying, but only in self-defense.
Joshua Z. Chandler took the stand on the final day of testimony in his now two-week-long murder trial to explain to the seven men and five women weighing his case that he feared an encounter with Rakeem Hamilton and shot at him to protect himself. Chandler said as he came around the corner of a bodega at Locust and Walnut streets, at around 10 p.m. on July 3, 2023, he locked eyes with Hamilton, who was sitting in a nearby car in front of the store.
He said he saw Hamilton “make a move” and told the jurors he fired his gun at him. Hamilton died as a result of wounds he suffered in the hail of bullets.
Chandler, 23, of Lockport, has been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the shooting death of Hamilton, 27, also of Lockport.
The spray of bullets from Chandler’s gun also struck a female passenger in Hamilton’s car. The woman was hit in the face by the bullets, but survived the shooting and testified earlier in the trial.
Lockport Police patrol officers said they responded to a “shots fired” call outside a bodega and the first officers on the scene said they found the female victim “shot in the face.” The woman was rushed by ambulance to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, where she was treated for her wounds.
Other responding officers reported locating a spent shell casing and then finding the body of Hamilton about 100 feet from where the female victim had been located. Hamilton was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators have still not commented on what they believe triggered the shooting. Testimony in the case has shown that Chandler and Hamilton were known to each other.
Sources with knowledge of the case have described the incident as a “targeted” shooting and not a random act of violence.
Closing arguments to the jury by prosecutors and Chandler’s defense will take place later today.