A 24-year-old Florida gas station clerk, Eduardo Labrada Machado, is accused of killing off-duty officer David Jewell. The man allegedly shot Jewell dead because he was having a “bad day,” in what has been labeled an “assassination.”
Videos by Suggest
According to an initial release issued by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO), the incident occurred on Monday, September 15. At around 4:08 p.m., David Jewell, an off-duty police officer with the Edgewater Police Department, entered a Circle K gas station on Ocean Shore Boulevard.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said during a news briefing that Jewell was buying a hot dog at the time, WESH reported.
Video surveillance reviewed by authorities allegedly shows Machado, a Circle K employee, exiting the store and retrieving his jacket from his car, and then shooting Jewell multiple times in the head, killing him.
A ‘Bad Day’
A September 16 release by the VSO alleged that Machado confessed to the murder. He told the police that he knew Jewell from his past visits to the store, even saying they had argued in the past, the VSO said.
At the time of the incident, Machado stated he was “having a bad day.” He allegedly told police he thought about shooting the off-duty cop earlier in the day. It all materialized when he saw Jewell entering the store, which led to the fatal shooting.
According to Sheriff Chitwood, after Jewell hit the floor, Machado’s gun jammed. He allegedly cleared his firearm and then fired up to eight shots at Jewell’s head. Chitwood called the incident an assassination.
Machado’s family members told authorities that he had been diagnosed with mental health issues in the past. Reportedly, he was hearing voices, was quiet, and “played a lot of video games.”
Machado has no criminal history, as per the VSO. Furthermore, his family was not aware of any “homicidal threats or anti-law enforcement ideologies on his part.”
Eduardo Labrada Machado was charged with first-degree murder. He is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail.
“David was a guy that we could rely on for anything, never heard a bad thing about him,” Acting Edgewater Police Chief Charles Geiger said. “He’s going to be a tremendous loss to the Edgewater Police Department.”
A GoFundMe was launched to help his family through this extremely difficult time.