EDGEWATER, Fla. – Kind, selfless and caring are some of the words used by the Edgewater Police Department to describe Officer David Jewell, who was shot and killed at a gas station in Ormond-by-the-Sea.
Volusia deputies said Jewell was killed Monday at a Circle K after being shot multiple times by a gas station clerk, identified as 24-year-old David Machado.
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Jewell had a wife and a 17-year-old son, according to Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood. He had been with the Edgewater Police Department since 2023.
“His commitment to the badge was unwavering, but it was his devotion as a husband and father that truly defined him,” Edgewater police said on social media. “Officer Jewell was kind, selfless, caring, and a light during a dark day. For those who had the honor of knowing him, he was a great friend with a sense of humor.”
Acting Edgewater Police Chief Charles Geiger described Jewell as someone “we could rely on for anything.”
“You never hear a bad thing about him, and he’s going to be a tremendous loss not only for the police department but also life in general,” Geiger said.
For much of Tuesday, a steady flow of people stopped by the Edgewater Police Department, where they left flowers on and around Jewell’s police vehicle.
“Honestly, I’m very emotional,” said Glorimi Mannie, who spoke to News 6 after paying her respects to Jewell Tuesday. “I just want to cry right now.”
Mannie said she never met Jewell, but she was gutted when she heard what happened to him Monday.
“Every day he would come and clock in and work,” Mannie said. “(Jewell) probably was put in more threatening situations and still was able to go home. This was just pointless. There was no reason for him to have been shot down like that.”
At one point, News 6 and other media outlets turned off their cameras out of respect for Jewell’s family after they arrived to have a moment by his vehicle.
Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew called the shooting “one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen in the community of Edgewater.”
Jewell had also worked with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and Lake Helen Police Department prior to joining the Edgewater Police Department. He had previously worked for the Volusia Sheriff’s Office as a telecommunicator and won a “Telecommunicator of the Quarter” award in 2020.
“Senseless and shocking to everyone who knew David. Thank you to all who responded fast and worked diligently on this investigation to ensure we can pursue justice on behalf of David and his family,” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood wrote on Facebook.
Lake Helen Police Chief Robert Mullins released the following statement about Jewell:
Ofc. Jewell started his law enforcement career as a reserve police officer with the Lake Helen Police Department in 2012 before joining Edgewater Police Department in 2023. Ofc. Jewell, commonly referred to as “DJ” among his fellow officers, was an asset to the agency and well liked among his peers. In my nearly 28 years of law enforcement experience, I have never encountered a more friendly, kind-hearted officer than David Jewell. It is devastating that he was taken from us so senselessly. “DJ” was and will always be one of us and he will never be replaced.
Neighbors were also shaken by the fatal shooting.
“It just makes you sick. To think somebody could do that to an officer, right here in our neighborhood, it’s hard to process,” said Carl Hausermann, who lives near the gas station where Jewell was killed.
In the wake of Jewell’s death, residents have created a memorial at the scene, leaving flowers and paying tribute.
“I can’t imagine the heartbreak that they’re experiencing, but I wanted to leave them a little something that their neighbors and friends are here and our hearts are breaking with theirs,” said Lisa Wilkinson Jacobs, another neighbor.
According to new details released by the sheriff’s office, Machado told deputies he was having a bad day on his way to work on Monday and had thought about shooting Jewell earlier.
The sheriff’s office said when Machado arrived at work and saw Jewell, he used a handgun he bought recently to shoot Jewell “multiple times” in the back of the head and “did not say anything to Jewell prior to shooting him.”
The Edgewater Police Department posted on Facebook Tuesday to share ways that people can help Jewell’s family, including links to a MealTrain page and a GoFundMe page.
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