Off-duty police officer killed in shooting at Ormond-by-the-Sea gas station

Date Added: September 15, 2025 10:25 pm

Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced the arrest of a shooter who killed an off-duty Edgewater police officer in an Ormond-by-the-Sea gas station this afternoon.

The shooter, identified as 24-year-old Eduardo Felipe Labrada Machado (DOB: 02/20/2001), is in custody.

The preliminary investigation indicates the victim, David Jewell, 45, walked into the Circle K around 4:08 p.m.

Machado, an employee at the gas station, is shown on surveillance footage walking out of the store soon after the victim walks in. Machado goes to his car to retrieve a jacket, then walks back into the store and shoots Jewell in the head multiple times, killing him.

It is believed the victim and Machado knew each other. The motive for the shooting remains under investigation. A second person initially detained during the investigation, a second Circle K employee, is a witness in the investigation.

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office sends its condolences to Jewell’s family and the entire Edgewater Police Department. Jewell also previously worked for the Volusia Sheriff’s Office as a Telecommunicator.

“The video is probably something that in 38 years of law enforcement, that I can tell you- it’s unbelievable what you see in that video,” Sheriff Chitwood said of the surveillance footage capturing the murder.

“David was a guy that we could rely on for anything, never heard a bad thing about him, and he’s going to be a tremendous loss to the Edgewater Police Department,” Acting Edgewater Police Chief Charles Geiger said in a media briefing at the scene.

The investigation is continuing at this hour.

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CASE UPDATE (9/16/25): Overnight, Circle K employee Eduardo Labrada Machado, 24, was booked at the Volusia County Branch Jail on a charge of first-degree murder in Monday's fatal shooting of David Jewell.

Key points from the investigation since the last update include:

-The defendant confessed to the murder. He stated he'd seen Jewell in the store several times, and believed he had an argument with him at some point in the past. He couldn't provide any details about the argument. He did not indicate he knew the victim was a police officer, or if he had ever seen him in uniform. He did say he'd seen Jewell with a firearm in the past, and was afraid of him.

-The defendant said he was having a bad day on his drive to work, and thought about shooting Jewell earlier. When he arrived at work and saw Jewell, he used a handgun he recently purchased to shoot him multiple times at close range. He did not say anything to Jewell prior to shooting him.

-Interviews with the defendant's family members revealed he had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder in the past, and had indicated he was hearing voices. Family members said he was quiet and played a lot of video games. They were not aware of any homicidal threats or anti-law enforcement ideologies on his part. The defendant is a legal resident of the United States who has lived here for 10 years and has a green card.

-The defendant does not have a criminal history. He had one prior encounter with law enforcement in 2023, a weapons complaint about him shooting guns at Tomoka State Park.

-The weapon used in the murder was found inside a jacket in the back seat of the defendant's vehicle.

-The homicide investigation is continuing and evidence collected is being processed and analyzed. The defendant is being held without bond.

-Critical incident stress support is being provided to colleagues of Jewell, a former VSO telecommunicator and an Edgewater police officer since 2023. The Sheriff's Office again offers sincere condolences to Jewell's family, friends and the Edgewater Police Department.