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Gas Station Clerk Who Was ‘Having a Bad Day’ Charged With Murder After Shooting Off-Duty Officer 24 Times [WATCH]

Posted By RVM News Staff On In Law Enforcement,News | No Comments

Authorities in Volusia County, Florida, say a gas station clerk shot and killed an off-duty Edgewater police officer inside a Circle K store on Monday afternoon, firing 24 rounds in what Sheriff Mike Chitwood called a calculated act of violence, as reported [1] by The New York Post.

The victim, 45-year-old Officer David Jewell, was shot multiple times in the head at point-blank range while inside the Ormond-by-the-Sea store.

Jewell, a father and two-year veteran of the Edgewater Police Department, had previously served with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and the Lake Helen Police Department.

The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Eduardo Labrada Machado, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Machado, a legal U.S. resident and green card holder who has lived in the country for the past decade, was taken into custody after investigators recovered the handgun used in the shooting from his car.

Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators shows Machado leaving the store shortly after Jewell entered. He went to his car, retrieved a jacket, and returned inside before pulling out a handgun and opening fire.

Authorities said Machado reloaded after his first magazine was empty, continuing to shoot until Jewell was dead.

β€œFiring 24 shots, two clips, into off-duty police officer David Jewell, assassinating him on the spot,” Sheriff Chitwood said during a news conference.

β€œIn 38 years of policing, as a homicide detective, at the time the fourth-largest city in the country, to watch the evil and the calculating-ness of what he did to Officer Jewell, you cannot describe it.”

Investigators said Machado confessed after his arrest, telling authorities he had seen Jewell in the store multiple times and believed they had argued in the past.

According to the sheriff’s office, Machado claimed he was β€œhaving a bad day” and had considered shooting Jewell earlier that same day while driving to work. He allegedly made no comments to Jewell before opening fire.

While Machado had no prior criminal record, authorities confirmed he had previously come into contact with law enforcement in 2023 for firing weapons in a state park. Family members told police he had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

Officer Jewell leaves behind his wife, father-in-law, and son. His colleagues launched a GoFundMe campaign to help support his family, which had raised more than $33,000 as of Wednesday morning.

β€œTo honor his service and support his family during this devastating time, we are raising funds to provide ongoing care for his wife, father-in-law and son as David was their sole provider,” the fundraiser states.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said the case remains under investigation and that prosecutors intend to pursue the charges to the fullest extent of the law.