David Jewell, 45, male, White/Caucasian, died on September 15, 2025, after he was shot inside a Circle K in Ormond-by-the-Sea, just north of Ormond Beach, Florida. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said the off-duty Edgewater Police officer walked into the store around 4:08 p.m., moments before a clerk stepped out to a car, returned, and opened fire at close range.
Surveillance video described by investigators shows the gunman shooting David Jewell multiple times in the head, an attack the sheriff called “unbelievable.”
Deputies identified the suspect as Eduardo Felipe Labrada Machado, 24, a Circle K employee who, according to investigators, retrieved a jacket from his vehicle and then carried out the shooting without saying a word. He was taken into custody that night and booked on a charge of first-degree murder. Detectives later said Machado confessed, telling them he’d been “having a bad day” on his drive to work and had thought about shooting David Jewell earlier that day; he also claimed he had seen David Jewell in the store before and feared him, though he did not indicate he knew David Jewell was a police officer. A second Circle K employee who was initially detained was determined to be a witness.
In court the next day, a judge ordered that Machado be held without bond on the murder charge. Reporting from the scene and subsequent coverage noted that David Jewell was shot repeatedly—investigators later counted 24 shell casings and at least 20 gunshot wounds, consistent with statements that the assailant reloaded mid-attack. The case details prompted a swift and visible response from area law enforcement agencies and the community.
On September 18, a Volusia County judge granted a defense request to seal Machado’s confession from public release to protect the fairness of future proceedings, even as police and prosecutors acknowledged its existence in earlier briefings and reports. The filing record also reflected a written plea of not guilty. Public events honoring David Jewell followed, including a candlelight vigil, while his funeral arrangements were kept private at the family’s request.
Prosecutors escalated their stance in early October. On October 6, 2025, the Seventh Judicial Circuit State Attorney announced that a grand jury had indicted Machado for first-degree murder and that the state will seek the death penalty, calling the killing of David Jewell “premeditated” and “deserving of the ultimate punishment.” As of that announcement, Machado remained jailed and no other suspects were sought in the case.
Beyond the courtroom filings, tributes traced David Jewell’s path in public service. He had joined the Edgewater Police Department in 2023 after earlier work with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and other local agencies, and he was remembered by colleagues as dependable and deeply committed. Community memorials and press reports captured the shock that followed his killing at a neighborhood gas station—an everyday stop turned into the place where David Jewell, 45, male, lost his life.
