John Collins was a 70-year-old church custodian who was fatally shot in Chester, Pennsylvania, on September 13, 1993. The shooting occurred at about 3 a.m. in an alley across from the church where he worked, on the 1200 block of West Ninth Street near Lloyd and Kane streets. Police described the incident as alley gunfire tied to a burst of about 12 to 15 shots exchanged between two groups, and investigators believed Collins was caught in the middle rather than being the intended target.

Authorities quickly named three suspects: Darrell Burton, Warner Covington, and Braheim Goldsboro. Warrants for criminal homicide and related charges were issued; Burton and Covington were arrested soon after the shooting, while Goldsboro remained at large in the report. Charges included criminal homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, possession of an instrument of crime, and criminal conspiracy. Some family members suggested Collins may have been trying to protect a son, but investigators said that was not how the shooting occurred.