Adarius Da’Shun Odom, a Black/African American male in his 20s who was known to friends and family as “Daily,” was fatally shot on August 13, 2026, at Showalter Park in Century, Florida. At approximately 6:53 p.m., Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the park at 7890 Kelly Field Road after reports of gunfire. When deputies arrived, they found Odom lying on his back behind a white four-door Kia in a parking area between the ball field and playground.
He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and neck. Escambia County EMS attempted life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators located spent shell casings near his body.
The shooting occurred after a group of roughly seven or eight people, some from Florida and others from Alabama, reportedly gathered at the park for a prearranged fistfight connected to a dispute involving a girl. Authorities said two individuals had been fighting while others watched. The confrontation itself apparently ended before the gunfire erupted. A second person, Da’Quan “Money” Johnson, was also struck during the shooting. Johnson was taken to Jay Hospital with a through-and-through gunshot wound to his leg and survived. Odom and Johnson had previously been teammates on the 2018 Flomaton High School Hurricanes football team that won the Alabama Class 3A state championship.
The violence unfolded close to another recreational area where children were practicing. Although no organized activities were taking place at Showalter Park at the time of the shooting, youth football and cheerleading practices were underway at nearby Anthony Pleasant Park. The two parks are separated by woods but connected by a trail and footbridge. After numerous gunshots were heard, coaches and organizers stopped the practices and cleared people from the area as a precaution.
Investigators quickly focused on 16-year-old Keyunta Iveon Ewing, who was known locally as “Baby K.” About an hour and a half after the shooting, investigators interviewed Ewing at the Century Precinct. According to the subsequent arrest-warrant affidavit, Ewing acknowledged being at the park but gave an account in which he denied being the shooter. He reportedly told investigators that he went there to watch the fistfight and claimed that afterward Odom reached toward his waistband and made a statement about defending someone. Ewing said he then ran toward the woods and heard several gunshots as he fled.
Investigators said evidence gathered afterward conflicted with portions of Ewing’s account. A search of another witness’s cellphone produced video showing the fistfight and Ewing near the scene toward the end of the recording. Investigators also noted a discrepancy involving the clothing Ewing was wearing in the video compared with what he was wearing when he was interviewed later that evening. More significantly, eyewitnesses began providing accounts directly identifying Ewing as the person who allegedly produced the firearm after the fight.
One witness told deputies that the group had gone to the park intending to resolve an argument through a fistfight and that firearms were not supposed to be involved. According to that account, after the fight ended, a shorter person wearing a hoodie approached someone in the group with a handgun and attempted to rob him before the shooting began. Another witness gave investigators a sworn statement on August 15 describing the moments immediately preceding Odom’s death. That witness alleged that the group was standing around talking after the fight when Ewing pulled a handgun from his shorts, pointed it at Odom and demanded that he give something up. The witness said Odom raised his hands and tried to defuse the confrontation, but Ewing allegedly fired repeatedly into his chest. Johnson was struck in the leg during the same burst of gunfire. The witness later identified Ewing in a photographic lineup.
Investigators obtained additional corroboration on August 19 when they interviewed another witness at the West Fraser Timber Company sawmill in McDavid. That person reportedly described seeing Odom with his hands raised while Ewing pointed a firearm at him and then opened fire. The second witness also positively identified Ewing from a photographic lineup. These accounts became central to the probable-cause case against Ewing.
On August 21, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons publicly announced that an arrest warrant had been issued for Ewing on a first-degree murder charge and initially warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous. Later that night, Ewing surrendered to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at the Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Pensacola. He was taken into custody on the active warrant. Court-related reporting identified the warrant charge as first-degree felony murder without premeditation.
Authorities also investigated gunfire that occurred about an hour after Odom’s killing. Around 8:00 p.m. on August 13, deputies responded to Mayo Street, only a few blocks from Showalter Park, where numerous bullet holes were discovered in a residence. Sheriff Simmons said investigators believed the residence had a connection to Ewing and that the second shooting appeared to have been retaliatory. Authorities urged those with information to cooperate rather than seek retaliation on their own.
By August 25, prosecutors had confirmed that Ewing would be prosecuted in adult court despite being 16 at the time of the homicide. Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said the case would be transferred into adult circuit court, although the precise formal charges would be determined as that process moved forward. At that point Ewing remained in custody, and no trial or conviction had occurred. The allegations against him therefore remained accusations that prosecutors would be required to prove in court.
Odom’s death was followed by a public outpouring of remembrance from the Flomaton-area community. A celebration of life was held August 22 at the Flomaton High School Auditorium, where friends and relatives wore Flomaton Hurricane green in his memory. His connection to the school’s championship football team remained a prominent part of the tributes, recalling a season in which Flomaton captured its first state football championship after nearly a century of school history. What began as a gathering for a fistfight at a neighborhood park had ended with Odom dead, another former teammate wounded, a teenager accused of murder, and a case moving toward adult criminal prosecution.
