A Falls Township man was arrested Thursday night by a SWAT team after allegedly shooting a man who asked him for a food recommendation outside a local restaurant.
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Zacchaeus Williams, 22, was arrested at approximately 9 p.m. New Year’s Day in the parking lot of the Alexandria Apartments, according to law enforcement officials.
Falls Township police Lt. Chris Clark said the arrest was made without incident with the assistance of the Bucks County South Emergency Response Team.
The shooting took place around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday at the Pennsbury Plaza shopping center on West Trenton Avenue.
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According to a probable cause affidavit, a man was shot in the left leg after approaching Williams outside OMG Seafood and Chicken on New Year’s Eve.
The wounded man told investigators it is his “common practice” to ask people leaving a restaurant what they ordered so he can order the same meal. When the man saw Williams leaving the shop, he turned back toward him and said, “Ay yo,” to get his attention.
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According to the affidavit, Williams immediately pulled out a “smokey gray semi-automatic handgun” and shot the man in the leg without saying a word.
Officers responding to the nearby store found wounded man, who was with his girlfriend, with a gunshot wound through his leg, police said.
The injured man was transported to Capital Health Regional Hospital in Trenton for treatment of the non-life-threatening wound, police said.
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Investigators identified Williams using surveillance footage from the restaurant, which showed him wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a black mask that did not cover his face. Williams looked directly at the camera while paying for his order, police said.
Police were able to link Williams to his phone number, and investigators used police databases to link the number to Williams’ New Jersey driver’s license and a previous contact with Falls Township officers in 2024, police said.
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Detectives recovered a .40-caliber spent casing at the scene, police said.
Williams was preliminarily arraigned at 2 a.m. Friday before District Judge Stacy Wertman on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of an instrument of crime and a weapon.
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Williams was remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility after failing to post 10 percent of $500,000 bail.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
